'Outrage' expressed over derelict and vacant retail area in Tipperary

The sense of outrage felt by people in Clonmel over the dilapidated and derelict state of Market Place in Clonmel has been conveyed to the owners of the neglected retail area by District Mayor Richie Molloy.

Cllr Molloy and District Administrator Carol Creighton met with a representative of Remcoll, the company that owns most of the units at Market Place, in recent weeks.

The District Mayor said that the Remcoll representative had assured him that the company weren’t forgetting about the area, and that they would engage with the planning section of Tipperary County Council with a view to developing Market Place.

Cllr Molloy said that the council would exert as much pressure as possible on the company to honour their commitments in relation to Market Place, and he hoped that plans would be drawn up in the new year.

Above: Alex from the Tidy Towns group and Mary Smyth of the South Tipperary Art Group were among those who helped out at Market Place, showing great community spirit

In the meantime, the boarded-up units at the retail area, which had been covered in graffiti, have been given a facelift by Maureen Purcell and a team of volunteers from the South Tipperary Art Group (STAG), who have given them a much-needed lick of paint.

Cllr Molloy had suggested that the boarded-up units would be painted and he extended his thanks to the STAG artists for their work.

He said he was delighted with the painting job. While it was only a temporary measure, it had at least taken “the ugly look” from the place, said the District Mayor, who added that he has been inundated with complaints about the poor state of Market Place.

He extended his thanks to Remcoll for covering the cost of the paint.

Cllr Molloy also said he was sorry to hear that The Book Market, one of the last remaining units still in business at Market Place, had plans to leave the area and move to Mitchel Street.