Dunnes Stores 'should hang head in shame' over vacant Clonmel building
Claim made that former Dunnes and Heaton stores really ‘took’ from the appearance of Clonmel’s town centre
A Clonmel councillor has repeated his claim that Dunnes Stores should “hang their head in shame” over the appearance of their former store in the town’s O’Connell Street.
The building has been vacant since the store closed in 2017.
Cllr Tom Acheson, who first made that claim just over a year ago, said at a meeting of Clonmel Borough District that the appearance of the premises, as well as that of the former Heatons store in O’Connell Street, which has been vacant since its closure almost five years ago, really “took” from the town centre.
He accused Dunnes “of kicking the can down the road” on the building and he was sure that somebody else would be interested in going in there.
Cllr Acheson presumed that if a property was painted it wasn’t listed on the Derelict Sites Register. However, he said that the painting job that had been carried out on the Dunnes building in O’Connell Street was “shocking”, and that “a 14-year-old would have done better”.
He said that the seven percent levy from derelict properties that would be collected by Revenue should be returned to local authorities, and shouldn't be absorbed into the Exchequer.
Cllr Pat English had asked for an update on both the former Dunnes and Heatons premises, saying they were in a prime location.
District Manager Jonathan Cooney said that the council sometimes engaged in conversations with parties but couldn’t share what was said in those conversations because they were conducted in confidence.
Dunnes Stores were contacted for comment as were the Frasers Group, which acquired Sports Direct International, which purchased Heatons.