Town closing down

upncmnhistori

I seem to find that a lot of unoccupied business in my hometown lately in Galway East. It was a reknowned pub town many years back but know you have a lot of unoccupied business on the one street.
A supermarket franchise opened up on the outside of the town which seemed ... I suppose to take economically away from the town but I suppose that's because of their free parking. Does anyone else feel that there town is becoming 'abondened'. Do rates damage businesses in small towns?

Tinder

What town are you referring to???

crusher000

Typical of a lot of small villages and not just East Galway. More empty premisies than full in my village.

bonzodog2

Tinder wrote: »

What town are you referring to???

Sounds like Athenry

upncmnhistori

thats the one

Greaney

I know it isn't East County Galway, but I was shocked at the state of Ballinrobe, even during the boom! Folk told me it was because alot of the businesses relocated to the shopping centre. Why have we Irish fallen out of love with our towns and build shopping centres?? This builds car dependency and it's not very good for our waistlines!!

Then again, rent sky rocketed during the boom and they've not seemed to come down!

Tinder

Unfortunately it happens to all towns where a large supermarket locates outside of a small town, you don't have to look far to see how a Tesco, Dunnes or other major retailer sucks the life out of a town, Ballinrobe - Tesco, Athenry - Joyces new unit, Claremorris - Tesco.

upncmnhistori

I wonder is that true I keep hearing that 'Joyces destoryed the town' but others have said they prefer it because the stalwart supermarket for years was Centra. It is doing economically better than the town itself with free car parking and it has a higher footfall. Is parking a 'killer' in smaller towns. I remember at one heritage meeting I was at people ask the tour guides in the heritage centre to do a 10minute tour because of parking near the post office.
Its a shame when people come to a town they should enjoy it with as much time as they like rather than be distracted by a parking meter. The other thing about Athenry is to do with high rates.

Greaney

That's an excellent point. There's no daily rates with the meter. That might change with the new car park at the GAA grounds. I know a lot of folk are curious to see how that will change parking in the town.

In fairness, the traffic warden hardly ever tickets the cars so many people who work there park in front of their businesses. That's why the town is choc-full of cars

upncmnhistori

I agree Greaney. Apparently Joyces has taken economically away from the town. The same thing has happened to Claremorris and Ballinrobe with Tesco's. I remember a lecturer of mine called this a 'donoughout effet' in enviroment and planning class as part of my degree. The 'Donoughout effect' is were a big supermarket is built outside of a town and takes business away from the main town.

Tranceypoo

Greaney wrote: »

That's an excellent point. There's no daily rates with the meter. That might change with the new car park at the GAA grounds. I know a lot of folk are curious to see how that will change parking in the town.

In fairness, the traffic warden hardly ever tickets the cars so many people who work there park in front of their businesses. That's why the town is choc-full of cars

Is that what that new development is next to the GAA ground in Athenry, a car park? Seriously a car park? Who's it for?!!

jkmanc1974

Was in Athenry on Friday and could not believe how quiet the town has gone - even one of the main pubs in the town(Arch) has gone......Claremorris though is ten times worse!!

Brgds
Johnny

Galwayguy35

I don't see how it is a bad thing that supermarkets have set up in the smaller towns.

Supervalue and Aldi are a godsend in Loughrea, lots of parking space and reasonable value.

upncmnhistori

Yes that think beside the pitch will be a car park. There is one on Cross Street called Dennisons car park but it is barely used. Joyces hasn't really brought people into the town and apparently transport/motorways are damaging to rural aeras because of people going into Galway City or East.
A lot of people stop in Joyces even locals to shop there but nothing is moving in the main town apart from maybe the pub and food trade but that is steady enough. As one person remarked to me lately was that 'there isn't even enough population in Athenry to fill all the pubs'.
With Joyces you have free parking and in today's recession people can't afford it and others don't want to. Across from the post office it is 20c per hour, 50c per hour up by Clarke Street where the New Park Hotel is. Of course you probably have those who don't pay for parking.
The outside of the town does ecomincally better than the inside of the town I would presume. I wouldn't have expected Claremorris to have the same fate as Athenry!

upncmnhistori

What I mean about Joyces hasn't really brought people into the town is the fact that it is built on the outside of the town it has employed people from Athenry which is great but the town their before Joyces needs people to buy in it too.

km79

In approx 3 years the Pres Secondary school of 1000 students and 100 staff will be relocating to a green field site outside the town too ....

upncmnhistori

heard about that it is supposed to happen in 2016.

flazio

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Is that what that new development is next to the GAA ground in Athenry, a car park? Seriously a car park? Who's it for?!!

Probably a Park&Ride to Galway or Limerick.

km79

flazio wrote: »

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Is that what that new development is next to the GAA ground in Athenry, a car park? Seriously a car park? Who's it for?!!

Probably a Park&Ride to Galway or Limerick.

Whenever there is a big hurling game cars are double marked for a mile or so around the ground. I'd say it might be something to do with that as well ?

aido76

The Vocational school is moving out of town also. Supposed to happen in Sept 2014!!!

I think a few things have gone against Athenry is the last few years:

The recession being a major one where people don't have as much disposable income now as they thought they had used to. So most are looking for bargains where ever they can find them.

The charge for onstreet parking so people can only stay a defined amount of time in the town without having the worry of getting a ticket. This is a charge people can do without and will try and avoid it where possible.

The motorway which makes Galway city very accessable. I personnally think the motorway is great but it can be the difference between people spending a few quid in Athenry or going to Galway to spend it.

Joyces has taken a bit from the town but I wouldn't blame them for that. I think it was up to the other shops to sell themselves and compete with Joyces. I think most of them have failed in that regard. Joyces advertise every week in the local papers and I think this brings in alot of people to Joyces. Fahy's Centra had the main supermarket business in the town for a long time and when a major player came in they didn't know how to react. Fahy's should have advertised more, even within the town with flyers. I know Centra are linked to Supervalu and as such Centra should have been able to offer the same weekly bargains as Supervalu but this does not happen. I heard recently that Fahy's Centra is being taken over so maybe they will get the finger out and try something to get customers into the town again.

Mrs OBumble

I'm dying of laughter to see Centra being described as a "supermarket". Seriously folks .. it's a conveninece store, where you pay higher prices for the convenience of a smaller shop layout that's easily accessed from the somewhere. It's never going to compete Joyces - or with Lidl in Oranmore for that matter!

Imagine for a second what it would have taken to put a retail unit the sizes of Joyces into the main street, along with adequate parking and road access. What are the chances of that happening - or being regarded as a good idea?

Towns don't have an intrinsic value or right to exist: they are simply commercial centres. When the commercial focus moves, so does the town.

Tranceypoo

km79 wrote: »

Whenever there is a big hurling game cars are double marked for a mile or so around the ground. I'd say it might be something to do with that as well ?

I suppose that makes some sense but it still seems a bit mad Ted!! Don't imagine the GAA are paying for it?!!

upncmnhistori

Fahy's do advertise a bit but in the Galway Advertiser you always see an advert for Joyces on a double-spread page. Maybe Fahy's Centra should have advertised more. Athenry town (main town) don't seem to advertise themselves heavily.

ScumLord

upncmnhistori wrote: »

A supermarket franchise opened up on the outside of the town which seemed ... I suppose to take economically away from the town but I suppose that's because of their free parking. Does anyone else feel that there town is becoming 'abondened'. Do rates damage businesses in small towns?

This is something that happened in the UK and other European countries over the last decade and as usual instead of learning from those mistakes Ireland followed them down into the pit ensuring they made the same mistakes or worse.

In the UK they've started to actively combat these problems of large stores on the motorways sucking the life out of towns with large shopping centres in the centre of towns. An example (although not a town) would be the Bullring in Birmingham, the same set up is used in many towns where they get big brand shops to move in as the incentive to get people into the places but reserve many of the shop spaces for local business.

Of course Ireland would need to have proper planning to do the same thing but I don't see it happening, we'll end up with dead suburb like towns and big warehouse like tescos down small roads with little to no local business in the mix.

I think JustMary Mrs OBumble summed it up nicely

Its impossible to please some people. No matter what happens, you get...

"My god, they've demolished half of the center of our little town to make way for that horrible big supermarket" (queue place being clogged with traffic)

or

"This town is a rip off, I wish some big chain would come in and force prices down" (take Tuam as an example)

or

"That big place on the outskirts is killing the businesses in the town center"

The thing with Athenry and Joyces is
- can 5 mins of a walk from the centre be consider the outskirts of anywhere?
- being beside the motorway likely brings business. I know I often call in there (cheaper and wider selection than my local Spar) or to the Topaz to fill up, or the Indian / Supermacs / Chinese and I live 20+ miles outside Galway City.
- Look at the 20+ additional businesses located in that retail park. There is no capacity for those in Athenry town centre. The only way you get to add those to the centre of the town........ is by expanding
- Last thing, access. The middle of Athenry is horrible to drive around. Those streets were designed for horse and carts!

Sure some places might close down, but others open in their place. If they don't the place is not a viable business location / building in the first place.

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

The thing with Athenry and Joyces is
- can 5 mins of a walk from the centre be consider the outskirts of anywhere?

- Look at the 20+ additional businesses located in that retail park. There is no capacity for those in Athenry town centre. The only way you get to add those to the centre of the town........ is by expanding

Indeed. I thought about making a comment about the 5 mins walk from town issue, but decided not to, just in case I was remembering it wrong. (Pretty sure it only tooks me 5-10 mins to walk there, but sometimes memory can be deceptive!)

But it's strange that this thread started with "lots of empty shops in my town" and is ending with "not enough space in the town for the 20 shops that have gone into new units on the outskirts".

cycling is fun

know it isn't East County Galway, but I was shocked at the state of Ballinrobe, even during the boom! Folk told me it was because alot of the businesses relocated to the shopping centre


Could some advise me where the shopping centre is in Ballinrobe? i live 3 miles away from the town do not know of any shopping centres in the town i know of a Tesco in the town but the only business there is Tesco.

upncmnhistori

Tesco is probably that shopping centre. So basically when a shopping centre is built on the outside of the town people go with it - I might try this as a new topic in a different forum