CURRYS - Now open in Sligo

andyr

SprostonGreen wrote:

I knew where that was, thanks to the weekender online.

To find it I just followed all the men in their dirty rain coats :eek:

Basq

andyr wrote:

Do they do 16 Day money back guarantee on their goods like ARGOS do?

Not if it's been staine-... i mean used... in anyway!

Gillie

andyr wrote:

yes, doesn't it make you sick. Instead of nit-picking and refusing these shops they should have been welcoming these shops into Sligo instead and they should have been grateful that they wanted to set up in Sligo in the first place - it would have made more people stay shopping in Sligo instead of driving out people out of Sligo to other towns to shop at these places.
On one hand they are trying to come up with solutions to ease traffic in the town centre by coming up with stupid one way systems and pedestrianisation and they have a huge parking problem but in another way they are not in favour of these out of town shopping parks at all which would ease some traffic in the town centre!

The thing is do they not listen to the public of Sligo when they are making these decisions - I have yet to come across 1 person that agrees with these refusals placed by the Sligo Chamber of commerce to the locations where places can set up in Sligo and every one I talk to agree that ARGOS, Tesco and ALDI should all be placed out of the town centre to facilitate easy access, greater parking and convenience.

Yes, its a joke anyone would think that they would have had huge opposition yet they got the go ahead with no problem - its a funny ol' world.[/QUOTE]

The problem is the "7 Sisters".
A group of business men that still think they run the town. They are still living in the days where they would decide what came into this town and who could sell what.
I'm afraid they still have very strong representation on the Chamber.
Really pi$$es me off.:mad:

andyr

The problem is the "7 Sisters".
A group of business men that still think they run the town. They are still living in the days where they would decide what came into this town and who could sell what.
I'm afraid they still have very strong representation on the Chamber.
Really pi$$es me off.:mad:

I cant make up my mind if this saga sounds like a western or if they sound like the mafia!

andyr

basquille wrote:

Not if it's been staine-... i mean used... in anyway!

I suppose Currys and the Sex Shop have a lot in common. Currys sell TV's and hi-Fi for entertainment and the sex shop sells other stuff for entertainment

SprostonGreen

Gillie wrote:

The problem is the "7 Sisters".
A group of business men that still think they run the town. They are still living in the days where they would decide what came into this town and who could sell what.
I'm afraid they still have very strong representation on the Chamber.
Really pi$$es me off.:mad:

Did they set up the Cum Eporium or the sex shop?

andyr

SprostonGreen wrote:

Did they set up the Cum Eporium or the sex shop?

Cum again! .....

Gillie

andyr wrote:

I cant make up my mind if this saga sounds like a western or if they sound like the mafia!

Hey at least some ppl find what the Mafia do to be useful!;)

(The mention of the sex shop has brought this WAAAY off topic!)

donegalman1

Apart from cheap alcohol, do people still head to the likes of Enniskillen to shop from Sligo. I think Letterkenny has been successful in keeping people in town and also attracting northerners over. That is what some competition may do for Sligo.

In terms of being a city Sligo is very objectionist and its not the ordinary folk. Everything seems to be objected to by business interests who can't see the trees for the forest.

Obviously the next local elections need locals to look very closely at the recent events and elect a more broader minded council.

Gillie

donegalman1 wrote:

Apart from cheap alcohol, do people still head to the likes of Enniskillen to shop from Sligo. I think Letterkenny has been successful in keeping people in town and also attracting northerners over. That is what some competition may do for Sligo.

In terms of being a city Sligo is very objectionist and its not the ordinary folk. Everything seems to be objected to by business interests who can't see the trees for the forest.

Obviously the next local elections need locals to look very closely at the recent events and elect a more broader minded council.

Don't think ppl head to Enniskillen as often now (apart from my Dad who loves a bargain!:rolleyes: )

AFAIK it's the Chamber of Commerce who are causing a lot of the objections and I don't think Joe Soap can control who sits on it.

One major refusal recently was the Wine Street Car park development. Pegged as one of the largest retail centers in the country, it got kicked to the kerb a couple of months back.

To be fair to the county council they had no choice.
The developers had promised 1000 car parking spaces in their proposal but there was on 343 on the plans that were presented!

Generally all the planning refusals that apply to the Carraroe area are shelved by the Chamber of Commerce.
They want ppl to keep coming into the middle of the City/Town - And they've openly said this :eek:

W*nkers!

andyr

The Sligo COC really wants to sit down and take a look at the logics of this argument. They want people to shop in the town centre however they have not successfully realised that the Roads in the town centre are too small (and congested) for huge delivery trucks and there is no big parking spaces near to the shops in town (apart from Tesco car park which get chocked at most times).

Thats a great logic, Sligo is already busting with traffic and congestion and low parking spaces - lets put in some more shops and make even more traffic come into the town! - crazy!

Instead of having an ARGOS up by the Retail Park where the delivery trucks can access easily from the Dublin N4 road and that people can pull in easily and safely without causing traffic jams and then if they buy something heavy from ARGOS can just walk straight out of the store and lob it into the back of their car.

No-one can say for sure what impact it would have on Sligo town if there were more shops out of town and how much quieter the shops in town will be (apart from stupid costly feasibility studies and reports.... and what they think might happen!) but I think if they just looked what has happened in Galway it is a success.

I remember a time when there were no retail parks on the Headford road and there are loads of shops before you get into Galway now selling all ranges of things. Now you go today in the centre of Galway and tell me if you think that has greatly affected people shopping in the centre of Galway? - the answer is no, its as busy as ever if not busier.

Sligo COC needs to just look at the facts of other places in Ireland instead of trusting some bloody environs plan drawn up ages ago and what they 'think' might happen if they allow some shops to set up out of town.

Andy.

Gillie

Funny thing is they are stopping Argos because it is not in line with it's "charter" relating to goods that Argos sells. Basically Argos would be competing with some local business men - and we can't have that!!!

Argos could have also gone to Cleveragh Industrial estate. There are 4/5 prime units there and AFAIK one business - Smyth's Toy store. What a waste!!

andyr

Gillie wrote:

Funny thing is they are stopping Argos because it is not in line with it's "charter" relating to goods that Argos sells. Basically Argos would be competing with some local business men - and we can't have that!!!

Argos could have also gone to Cleveragh Industrial estate. There are 4/5 prime units there and AFAIK one business - Smyth's Toy store. What a waste!!

Its not bad that Cleveragh Industrial estate but it is tucked away down there and a bit of a pain to get to small roads and dangerous parking that make the roads even tighter! and its not as accessible as the other retail park which you can easily come down the Collooney to Sligo carriageway and conveniently pull into the retail park with hitting virtually no traffic hold ups.

I am very intrigued to see what they are building / whats going on down there at the Ballinacarrow/Collooney roundabout it looks like a huge operation - maybe its for a big ARGOS store!

Andy.

Gillie

Pretty sure that it's a hotel Andy.
There was a sign up for ages about it.

With regard to Cleveragh. It wouldn't be that bad of a site. The new East link road (due before the year 3000!) is going near that site so the roads will have to be improved once this happens.

andyr

Gillie wrote:

Pretty sure that it's a hotel Andy.
There was a sign up for ages about it.

That proves I drive around with my eyes closed :eek:

Gillie wrote:

With regard to Cleveragh. It wouldn't be that bad of a site. The new East link road (due before the year 3000!)..

It being Sligo that means if its due 3000 its 3005 then

Gillie

To be fair the sign was the other side of the road - I could be wrong about it!

andyr

Gillie wrote:

To be fair the sign was the other side of the road - I could be wrong about it!

oh yeah - I seen dat sign before alright ......

il gatto

Sligo is developing in spite of the Chamber and the Borough Council. Business' are locating there anyway. Unfortunately, it's not being managed at all. Not enough parking, no proper access etc.
Apparently they want to put a multi story car park in Abbey Street car park, directly across from the Abbey, the towns oldest building by miles. I'm sure it'll enhance the area:rolleyes:
It always annoyed me how they got away with such crap decisions because nobody seemed to care or said anything. Now it's worse. There's holy hell about Argos not being let into town and Tesco being refused planning permission, and they just carry on regardless. Arrogant, small minded b@stards. I started a thread about this a while back.
Back on topic, glad to see Curry's in town. Competition is always welcome.

Iompair

I was over in Holland last year on business, and spent a day wandering around Amsterdam, I noticed a few underground multi-story carparks. No big concrete boxes blotting the skyline, just a couple of ramps for entry and exit.

If a few of those could be built around Sligo it would sort out a few of our parking problems without destroying the town.

andyr

Iompair wrote:

I was over in Holland last year on business, and spent a day wandering around Amsterdam, I noticed a few underground multi-story carparks. No big concrete boxes blotting the skyline, just a couple of ramps for entry and exit.

If a few of those could be built around Sligo it would sort out a few of our parking problems without destroying the town.

I think one of the problems that needs to be addressed for Sligo is where people who work in the town use the car parks and park their cars their all day (which really should be kept clear for shoppers). But then you cant blame them totally because the town is so stupidly designed that more than likely most of the shops and premises don't have ample parking for their staff at the premises so I suppose they have to park somewhere - however if people nearby got other ways to come into work (Bicycles, public Transport, car sharing, walk) then they could leave the cars at home and make more room in the car parks for shoppers.

I don't agree with this car park arrangement up at the hospital up at the Mall there as well where shoppers can park in there. Its a pay & Display car park however because shoppers and people who work in the town park in the Sligo General Hospital car park this means if you are a patient you can sometimes find it very hard to get a parking space because they are taken up by shoppers and workers! - there is not even a 2 hour maximum limit as far as I can see it at the hospital car park I think you can pay something like 4.00 Euro for 24 hour parking. I think that should be limited for people who are staying in hospital or who are visiting.

Andy.

Gillie

andyr wrote:

I think one of the problems that needs to be addressed for Sligo is where people who work in the town use the car parks and park their cars their all day (which really should be kept clear for shoppers). But then you cant blame them totally because the town is so stupidly designed that more than likely most of the shops and premises don't have ample parking for their staff at the premises so I suppose they have to park somewhere - however if people nearby got other ways to come into work (Bicycles, public Transport, car sharing, walk) then they could leave the cars at home and make more room in the car parks for shoppers.

I don't agree with this car park arrangement up at the hospital up at the Mall there as well where shoppers can park in there. Its a pay & Display car park however because shoppers and people who work in the town park in the Sligo General Hospital car park this means if you are a patient you can sometimes find it very hard to get a parking space because they are taken up by shoppers and workers! - there is not even a 2 hour maximum limit as far as I can see it at the hospital car park I think you can pay something like 4.00 Euro for 24 hour parking. I think that should be limited for people who are staying in hospital or who are visiting.

Andy.

Agreed on the Hospital thing but it would be a logistic nightmare!!
(Worked there for 5 years!)

The public transport is improving but not up to scratch yet! The small City Buses are fine but only certain routes get served regularly.
Oakfield/Merville/Sea Road have exploded in population the last few years but the bus only goes from John Street every 30-40 minutes compared with the Cartron run which is every 15 minutes.

I walk to work at present because there is no point in driving into town!!!

peasant

Pedestrianize the whole town centre (except for the main arteries), build a big car park on either side of town and have buses running to/from the car park every 10 minutes at peak times.
For people who absolutely insist on parking in town, there's the qayside multi-storey ...a sign at either end of town will tell you, if there are spaces available.
All remaining parking should be for permit holders only.

Then they can pack as many shops as they want right into town.

As it is at the moment, you can't even walk ...never mind park or godforbid drive through the centre.

Personally I absolutely detest shopping in Sligo town centre. If I can't get it in the new shops outside town, I'd rather buy it over the internet, if possible.

il gatto

Same as that. I've only been in the town center during the day once since the summer. It's just not worth the hassle any more. I stick to the edges of town or the internet. It takes ages to get to a car park, it's probably full when you get there, and if you find a space, it's over priced for a parking disc. Then you have to find Argos:rolleyes:
I'll be doing my Christmas shopping in the next week, because I can't take another week leading up to Christmas around that town.
And is it creeping cynicism with my advancing years, or are the Christmas lights looking cheaper and crapper every year? I suppose we're lucky to have them again, after this years round of debates over who should foot the bill.

vesp

andyr wrote:

. Instead of nit-picking and refusing these shops they should have been welcoming these shops into Sligo instead and they should have been grateful that they wanted to set up in Sligo in the first place

The Borough Council, in drawing up the County Development plan, realises that if shops like Tesco go to Carraroe then you can put a gate up at Sligo town centre and make it a wildlife zone. Look at all the towns in the UK where they allowed shopping centres to set up on green field sites 2 or 3 miles from city or town centres. Disaster. Even look at Lisburn , closer to home. The Chamber of commerce and the Borough Council is correct in wanting to follow through with the County Dev Plan, and only keep certain types of businesses out of the green belt, while the town is not fully developed. Aldi were offered a site in town but instead they wanted to build on land at agricltural values. The town should develop from the centre outwards. Any town planner can tell you that. What the town does need badly is more parking, and this is the fault of the Borough Council for giving preferrred developer status to Treasury Holdings, who were supposed to provide 1000 car parking spaces a long time ago. Instead they fooled the Borough Council in to getting the Wine st. car park very cheap.

andyr

vesp wrote:

The Borough Council, in drawing up the County Development plan, realises that if shops like Tesco go to Carraroe then you can put a gate up at Sligo town centre and make it a wildlife zone. Look at all the towns in the UK where they allowed shopping centres to set up on green field sites 2 or 3 miles from city or town centres. Disaster. Even look at Lisburn , closer to home. The Chamber of commerce and the Borough Council is correct in wanting to follow through with the County Dev Plan, and only keep certain types of businesses out of the green belt, while the town is not fully developed. Aldi were offered a site in town but instead they wanted to build on land at agricltural values. The town should develop from the centre outwards. Any town planner can tell you that. What the town does need badly is more parking, and this is the fault of the Borough Council for giving preferrred developer status to Treasury Holdings, who were supposed to provide 1000 car parking spaces a long time ago. Instead they fooled the Borough Council in to getting the Wine st. car park very cheap.

Sorry to disagree with you. i think an awful lot might not share your view (apart from the Sligo CoC and the people who have had shops in the town for years)

My view on this is if it is well planned that you have a lot of good popular and useful shops in the Town Centre as well as good out of town retail parks plus a regular 'shuttle bus' service in and out of the town centre and retail parks then there is no reason why the town centre should become a Ghost Town.

However if you had great shops in out of town retail parks but if you don't put any good shops, pedestrianisation, something like street entertainment / events, good parking, good places to sit down and have a rest and refreshments, some green places like a park and no traffic and pollution mixing with the shoppers then people will just go to the out of town places only and forget the town centre.

So it all comes down to good planning in the end. Maybe these places in the UK and Lisburn instead of blaming the out of town retail units being the demise of the town centre shopping should be sitting down and coming up with ways of enticing people back into the town centres again? - are they doing that?

i think there is room for successful out of town shopping and in-town shopping if things are thought out properly and planned properly. Don't you agree?

Taking Lisburn as an example then I have never been there but has it a good mixture of shops in the Town Centre? , Has it got good parking? - is there a shuttle bus service to the out of town shopping and back to the town centre? - is it pedestrianised or have any green areas? , is there any events / entertainment in the town centre? - is it right run down, bad lighting and unfriendly looking in the town centre there? - if that is the case who would want to go shopping in the town centre, of course it would become like a ghost town.

Yep, I have seen this happen in the UK where out of town shopping centres have had an impact on the town centres - but then again they (planners/ council) just let the town centre get run down and boarded up and not even bothered to try and resolve the situation. With that kind of apathy then of course people will shop out of town and not come into the town centre.

Andy.

vesp

andyr wrote:

Yep, I have seen this happen in the UK where out of town shopping centres have had an impact on the town centres - but then again they (planners/ council) just let the town centre get run down and boarded up and not even bothered to try and resolve the situation.

Exactly. The planners, Sligo Co. Co., Sligo Borough council, Sligo chamber of commerce and 99 % of the business people of Sligo are united on one thing ; Sligo should develop from the centre out. The population is simply not big enough to support two town centres, one in Carraroe and one in Sligo town.

vesp

andyr wrote:

Yep, I have seen this happen in the UK where out of town shopping centres have had an impact on the town centres - but then again they (planners/ council) just let the town centre get run down and boarded up and not even bothered to try and resolve the situation.

Exactly. The planners, Sligo Co. Co., Sligo Borough council, Sligo chamber of commerce and 99 % of the business people of Sligo are united on one thing ; Sligo should develop from the centre out. The population is simply not big enough to support two town centres, one in Carraroe and one in Sligo town.

andyr

vesp wrote:

Exactly. The planners, Sligo Co. Co., Sligo Borough council, Sligo chamber of commerce and 99 % of the business people of Sligo are united on one thing ; Sligo should develop from the centre out. The population is simply not big enough to support two town centres, one in Carraroe and one in Sligo town.

You dont have to have 2 Town Centres as you put it.

What is the most you will have out of town? A large Tesco an ARGOS and an ALDI maybe and then the existing up at the retail park thats it you are not going to get shoes or clothes shops or butchers or other shops up there. They can stay in the town.

And you say about population. if they put enough good shops in Sligo they will have a high catchment area of Customers in Sligo and well outside from Sligo as well so its all good.

Castlebar and Galway and Athlone have expanded well now - does anyone know if the Towns has got any less busier than before the Out of Town shopping places came on the scene?

<Edit> more than likely the more shops you put in a town (even if its a bit out of town) you will bring more customers into the area - more customers in the area mean the town centre shops get more custom as well more than likely </Edit>

Gillie

I was doing my Xmas shopping today and got nearly everything in the Quayside.
While purchasing in one of the stores there the girl behind the counter was chatting to me about "how business was".
In her experience nearly all the customers they get are from outside Sligo.
In other words ppl are attracted to Sligo to shop much like Enniskillen, Derry Dublin and Galway.

This would suggest that they have made significant progress in this area but there is more to do.

They "Pedestrianised" O'Connell Street at a cost of €2 million (according to the Champion.
So far there is a couple of Tree's in big square pots and removable Barrier's.
Now I assume that they are going to cobble it or something coz there's no way the above cost 2million! I would hope/imagine that they are waiting for that other welcome Development - Johnsons Court Mall - to complete. It's due in March.

On another note does anyone know what's happening behind the Clarence Hotel? There is construction going on at present!

JIZZLORD

sligo can be a joke for shopping. for example, music shops. The record room and Third wave are great shops and i've found many gems in both but for a town of its size you would expect something like hmv. For a town to continually new blood is needed and not all of it has to be multiples, sligo has been stagnant for too long