This town in Tipperary must be promoted 'but we cannot close our eyes'

Recent remarks made in the Dáil by Deputy Mattie McGrath, when he stated that Clonmel’s town centre is “decaying,” incurred the wrath of members of Clonmel Borough District at their monthly meeting.

Deputy McGrath also said that “Clonmel is on life support at the moment and it needs serious help and investment,” as he called for a task force to be set up for the town.

Cllr Tom Acheson said that contrary to another claim made by the Oireachtas member in his statement, there was more than one person living in O’Connell Street in Clonmel. He said that the way the Oireachtas member described the town “just baffles me”.

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Cllr Acheson said that no one was burying their heads in the sand but he warned against talking too negatively about the town.

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said that the Oireachtas member’s comments were disingenuous, when you consider all of the long- standing traders in the town and those people who were opening businesses.

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She said that she was in discussions with people with a view to opening new businesses in Clonmel.

Cllr Ambrose said there were vacant units in the town but that is a common theme in a lot of large towns.

One retailer told her that their business is doing very well, and there were others in a similar position but they didn’t want to comment because there is an “air of negativity” about the place.

She said she believed 2025 would be a very good year for what she described as “a very strong trading town”.

She said that Clonmel has industries and businesses that were the envy of most other towns.

Cllr Richie Molloy said it was good to be positive and you want to attract people into the town centre, but he added, “you have to accept that the town is in trouble”.

As someone who is in the town centre every day, he said that this is a common theme among people, although lots of other town centres were also in trouble.

He said that online business is a big detriment to town centres, and the big danger is to keep saying that everything is great when businesses are under pressure.

He said that while the town had to be promoted, “we cannot close our eyes either”.

Cllr Molloy said there should be a period of free parking to encourage people to come into the town centre.

“We have to make it as easy as possible for people to come in and park and do business”.

District Mayor Pat English said that Clonmel is the key town in the county, and two hours of free parking per day would make a difference.

District Administrator Carol Creighton said there were a lot of improvements in the town, with buildings being developed and upgraded. There were at least 30-40 properties that they were working on with the planning section and Towns Regeneration Officer Shane Grogan.

When the barriers in the Mary Street car park were out of order, she said that the business people had looked for an end to free parking, because cars were parking there all day.

“I cannot say enough about the town, I am proud of it,” said Ms Creighton, who complimented all of the councillors for their work.

District Manager Jonathan Cooney said that parking charges are being looked at across the county, and that is the format through which any changes would be made.

In her report to the meeting, Carol Creighton said that the Town Regeneration Team is working with Clonmel Borough District to identify owners of vacant and derelict properties, as well as pursuing those property owners who have properties on the derelict sites register.

“The team is working with District teams with regard to the properties on our URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) list,” the District Administrator’s report stated.

“There are currently 28 properties on that list, 14 of which have been progressed and either brought back into use or are in the process of being brought back into use.

“The team have engaged with the Department regarding adding more properties to this list, and the newly-appointed derelict sites officer is identifying additional properties which are vacant or derelict.

“The team are engaging with owners to highlight the grants that are available, while also advising that any dereliction must be addressed to avoid the property being put on the derelict sites register”.