Enniscorthy

Judgement Day

I even saw a Readymix concrete truck parked on the roundabout outside the Credit Union a few weeks back while the driver ran in. :rolleyes:

Cantona's Collars

Judgement Day wrote: »

I even saw a Readymix concrete truck parked on the roundabout outside the Credit Union a few weeks back while the driver ran in. :rolleyes:

It's gas-the traffic wardens were told to clamp down on illegal parking at the side of Supervalu/Herbie Murphy's but it seems you can park on a roundabout and get away scott free.

Cantona's Collars

Had the 'pleasure' of driving along the Clonroche to Cloughbawn road earlier,it's like something you'd find in a third world country.
It's nearly impossible to avoid the potholes and missing road surface,I found out that upkeep of the road is under the remit of the Enniscorthy area of the Council.They must be afraid to go near the place or something as the road looks like nothing has been done with it in a long long time:mad:

Who pays for the damaged wheels and shocks from driving along there?

Judgement Day

New café opened on Slaney Place and very inviting it looks too! Hope to check it tomorrow after the rugby.

TheChevron

Judgement Day wrote: »

New café opened on Slaney Place and very inviting it looks too! Hope to check it tomorrow after the rugby.

From looking in the window as I drive past, it looks very nice. Ill have to try it out myself.

jpb1974

zerks wrote: »

Had the 'pleasure' of driving along the Clonroche to Cloughbawn road earlier,it's like something you'd find in a third world country.
It's nearly impossible to avoid the potholes and missing road surface,I found out that upkeep of the road is under the remit of the Enniscorthy area of the Council.They must be afraid to go near the place or something as the road looks like nothing has been done with it in a long long time:mad:

Who pays for the damaged wheels and shocks from driving along there?

Where rural roads are concerned it's like the land that time forgot.

I drive into town via the Oulart road daily and the 'road' (for want of a better word) is falling to pieces around Corbally bridge and beyond. Already two deep potholes have formed in recent weeks when the weather hasn't even been that bad.

They'll be shaping up soon for the shovel of tarmac and a few pats soon

Judgement Day

Two more business closures this week - 'The Phone Booth' in Slaney Street and 'The House of Beauty' in Church Street. On a positive note, a new business 'The Traditional Sweet-Shop' has just opened in Slaney Street. My kids have given it a big thumbs up.

Cantona's Collars

Any movement on getting a tenant into the Old Dunnes site? It was off limits during Strawberry Fest as new tenants were to take occupancy but here we are in mid October with it still closed up.

Oh and bravo to the brainiacs that filled the massive hole on the junction of John Street and The Folly,they put screenings in it and didn't bother to tar over it-that'll survive the rain and traffic alright:rolleyes:

Cantona's Collars

Looks like the town could be hit by flooding with all this rain,hope it doesn't lead to a push on building unsightly walls along the riverbank that were mooted after the last floods.

Judgement Day

Some more seriously bad news coming up to Christmas.

TheChevron

Judgement Day wrote: »

Some more seriously bad news coming up to Christmas.

These restrictions have been in place for quite some time now.

haron

do anyone know of a bus from enniscorthy to wexford ideally stopping at the hospital that could get me there before eight in the morning?

TheChevron

haron wrote: »

do anyone know of a bus from enniscorthy to wexford ideally stopping at the hospital that could get me there before eight in the morning?

Bus Eireann will get you to Wexford at 6.20am giving you plenty of time to walk up to the hospital for 8.

http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1300287394-2.pdf

Wexford Bus stop at the hospital, but the have no bus at that time.

http://wexfordbus.com/timetables/wexford-dublin-city/

haron

thanks for the suggestion of the walk.. i seen them bus timetablea but was kinda hoping that they might have been another bus service i didn't know of running at times to suit

Judgement Day

Yet another charity shop opening in town - soon. Better than an empty premises but the choice of shop unit seems bizzarre given the bulk of clients will be mums with buggies and wrinklies like me.

Ian7

hey, anybody know what the new pillar is beside the footpath at the island road car-park. It's white and has green lights at the base. I thought it was another parking disk dispenser when it was being installed. Now i think it may be a re-fuel point for electric cars but it's location isn't ideal for that. The green lights make it look like a piece of abstract street furniture.

Cantona's Collars

Was in Wexford earlier today and the place was buzzing,the main street was packed and people were spending a few bob going by the bags they were carrying.Santa had a parade through the town to switch on the Christmas lights.
How depressing it was to return through a near deserted Enniscorthy with a handful of people wandering around.Shops with nobody in them.
I'm not surprised seeing as a huge amount of Enniscorthy people(me included) had made the trip to Wexford to shop,for many now this is a regular pilgrimage.
Despite some new shops opening there is still very little to attract shoppers to the town.
I know it's been discussed before but I feel we missed a trick by not allowing Tesco build a retail park here (thank you Michael White:rolleyes:) Tesco in Wexford was heaving and I met more Enniscorthy people there than I would by walking through the Market Square here.Of those same shoppers I met 90% of them headed up the main street of Wexford browsing and spending a bit more.
Sadly I predict this Christmas will be a last hurrah for quite a few businesses in Enniscorthy,with so many going elsewhere to spend there will be no choice for many but to close their doors for good.
I hope all those with vested and greedy interests that blocked progress in the town for so long are happy as the town continues it's decline-for every green shoot we see here there are two more that wither and die:(

IsaBrown

Was in whites last week, looks like its on last legs. Nothing much on offer bar photo printing. The town needs something to attract shoppers from the likes of Bunclody, oylegate, ferns/camolin, clonroche etc who I'm sure all travel the extra few miles to Carlow, wexford, Gorey and new ross simply because of the retail parks they provide.

Simple greed of one or two people that has prevented the towns prosperity.

UpHill

The reason Wexford is buzzing today is because the Winter Wonderland in the bullring and WexWorlds Sci Fi festival running over the weekend.

The reason they are happening

1. The retailers are united and have made a really big push together and not acting as individuals. Business like Greenacres are always involved in festivals down there.

2. Wexford Chamber of Commerce - staff of two very capable people who are involved in most festivals.

3. Wexford Borough Council - Pat Collins the town clerk bleeds Wexford, talk to him for 5 minutes, he's passionate about improving the town

These three work together very well. Any wonder Wexford town is down as one of the cleanest towns in the country. They are using social media well to create a buzz about events in the town.

Enniscorthy has never looked as well, with a castle dead centre and a majestic river running through it. It has a lot going for it - with the redevelopment of rafter street it was probaly a missed oppertunity this christmas.

Enniscorthy chamber doesn't seem to be very active relative to Wexford (maybe just my perception, feel free to correct).

I really couldn't disagree more about Tesco and out of town shopping centres. Ask Arklow, Carlow or New Ross how the old Tesco experiment is going? Enniscorthy has 5-6 serious supermarket chains so it is well served for a small town. If you want to suck the life blood out of a town do exactly what's suggested above. Not a big fan of any of the supermarkts but at least Supervalu, Pettitts and Dunnes are Irish owned and have some committment to the country and it's producers - they are recycling money for the most part within the country. Tesco et al hovering up profits and sending them back to the mothership. I wouldn't darken it's doors to be honest if I can help it at all.

Arklow was already in trouble but the shopping centre and Tesco really finished it up there - I've seen this with my own eyes. You only have to look up and down the length of the UK to see what happen's to town centres with out of town shopping.

Enniscorthy has missed out on a chance for a better chance at Christmas agree - but I really feel Tesco and out of town shopping is not the solution. Follow Wexford's example and get people/organisations pulling together rather than acting as individuals.

UpHill

Ian7 wrote: »

hey, anybody know what the new pillar is beside the footpath at the island road car-park. It's white and has green lights at the base. I thought it was another parking disk dispenser when it was being installed. Now i think it may be a re-fuel point for electric cars but it's location isn't ideal for that. The green lights make it look like a piece of abstract street furniture.

you're right - electric car charger

RKQ

UpHill wrote: »

Arklow was already in trouble but the shopping centre and Tesco really finished it up there - I've seen this with my own eyes. You only have to look up and down the length of the UK to see what happen's to town centres with out of town shopping.

Enniscorthy has missed out on a chance for a better chance at Christmas agree - but I really feel Tesco and out of town shopping is not the solution. Follow Wexford's example and get people/organisations pulling together rather than acting as individuals.

100% agree, very well said UpHill.

Wexford main street is car free and has a great variety of shops, selling goods at competitive prices.

Forget Tesco & out of town shopping & look at getting a good tenant like Penny's, Heatons etc in the old Dunnes on Rafter Street

Cantona's Collars

RKQ wrote: »

100% agree, very well said UpHill.

Wexford main street is car free and has a great variety of shops, selling goods at competitive prices.

Forget Tesco & out of town shopping & look at getting a good tenant like Penny's, Heatons etc in the old Dunnes on Rafter Street

Wexford Town is a prime example of how out of town shopping combined with a great variety of 'in town' stores works well.
I just put Tesco as an example,yes we have plenty of supermarkets but the town is missing something at it's heart.Too many similar shops-how many more discount shops,charity stores and womens clothing outlets do we need here?
My own father pointed it out saying if you want something you just can't get it in Enniscorthy.What's on offer isn't what we want or available cheaper elsewhere.A quick vox pop would affirm this thought.Many people I know shop in Gorey or Wexford and just get the bare essentials in Enniscorthy.It's a pity as we have a great town centre with everything central.Rafter street is pedestrianised but there was barely a dozen people at any one time on it today.The empty shell of the old Dunnes hardly helps,what happened to the grand plans of having a tenant this Summer? Dunnes can put an embargo on anyone they see as competition from opening there.
They want us to shop local but apart from groceries,I buy very little in the town.As an example-got a new tv earlier in the year, €750 odd in Wexford, €1300 in Enniscorthy.External hard drive €57 in Tesco,Wexford- €99 here was the cheapest and not even the same quality brand.

I hate to be so negative but it can't be helped-it's all well and good reopening the museum and having a nice promenade but the town needs a thriving retail sector to attract people.
Christmas shopping here is going to be a damp squib-there's not even a decent toy store,we had 2 ok ones a few years ago.I can't see many from the likes of Ferns,Bunclody etc. making the trip here when they can drive elsewhere for a better choice.
One bit of good news,a new clothes shop open on Duffry Hill beside Donohoes pub. (yes it's yet another womans shop)

jpb1974

The problem with Enniscorthy is that there are very few quality shops that people want to visit in the town centre.

Wexford has many of the top name stores along it's main street whereas Enniscorthy has close to nothing. From experience I know that it's these top name stores that attract people onto the main street.

If Enniscorthy had a Tesco it'd be great... but I still feel that people wouldn't really be overly bothered heading into town because there's no real quality shops where people know they can get the best of stuff at reasonable prices. That's the real crooks of the issue.

With Ken Black's opening in Wexford town it's going to be an even bigger draw for shoppers.

Judgement Day

Enniscorthy Town Council have sprung into action - at last - I hope.
I highlighted the state of the public seating outside the Town Council's offices as far back as May 2009 on my http://countywexford.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html and reported it face to face to the Town Development Officer in July this year - so imagine my surprise today when I went to take a photo for my blog and was greeted by the picture below. Hopefully, like General MacArthur, it will return, and then the Council can deal with the other seats throughout the town which would benefit from an annual maintenance programme.

Judgement Day

In other not so encouraging news, the continued deterioration of the newly pedestrianised Rafter Street must be mentioned.

Sadly, the street is really beginning to revert to its original state in recent months. General filth, oil, dog dirt and chewing gum are increasingly evident. Excessive amounts of vehicular traffic - road cleaning trucks, recycling and delivery lorries - are destroying the pedestrianised ambience that the street had achieved since its refurbishment. There seems to be no restriction on when the street is available for traffic. Already the paving is being broken up. Chewing gum is starting to put in an appearance and needs to be tackled now before the street is permanently disfigured. Given the Council's usual lethargic reaction to most things I wouldn't hold my breath while waiting for the gum problem to be tackled.

UpHill

It's hard to attract big brand shops to a town the size of Enniscorthy - they look at stats like disposable income and population within the catchment. Agree good tenant needed badly in Dunnes, TK MAX would have attracted people from all over the county into the town.

Driving through Enniscorthy last night I thought the lights along the quay looked great to be honest.

I suppose my main point is that I think it's important that new shops are located within the confines of the town and not on the outskirts. Fair play to Dunnes for taking over and converting that old building, much cheaper to build on a green field site out of town.

sundula

Swings and roundabouts, Dunnes restore the Mill yet leave there old premises locked and avoid letting it to any one thus leaving what should be the best shopping street in the town completely ruined. Its a pity local authorities cant put heavier rates on derilict buildings in town centre locations if the owners are making no attempt to find tenants.

Regards to attracting of bigger shops to the town, Tescos were and may still be prepared to take over a very large premises in Enniscorthy not so long ago and I am sure they did their figures to show the customer base was there.

Cantona's Collars

@Uphill, any survey on disposable income being spent in Enniscorthy would give skewed results as many simply spend elsewhere.
How many boutiques do we have opening and closing shortly afterwards here? People simply browse then head down the road to buy a cheaper option in one of the chain stores like Penneys or New Look.The same can be said for other stuff such as electronics etc.

I hate to paint such a depressing picture of retail in the town but it's in dire straits,yes the place is looking well(for the most part) but the streets are empty and the town is losing it's soul.Just look at old photo's of the town when it was the market hub of the county to see how it's lost out.

Even Bunclody is catching up on us and that's a small place,there goes another catchment area that used to shop in the town.They have a new Aldi store which will be another reason for them not to drive to Enniscorthy which a lot of them did.
As a town in the dead centre of the county we should be the main hub for everything but thanks to years of head in the sand,myopic thinking and greed by the establishment we've lost out big time and I'm afraid those losses will never be recovered.

As for charging deriliction rates on the old Dunnes site just look at the farce of the old Murphy Floods site where those charges were applied but ignored and then the owner rented the ground to the council for a car park.

sundula

Murphy Floods is a different case, the current owners were in the middle of the purchase process when it burnt down.

UpHill

zerks wrote: »

@Uphill, any survey on disposable income being spent in Enniscorthy would give skewed results as many simply spend elsewhere.
How many boutiques do we have opening and closing shortly afterwards here? People simply browse then head down the road to buy a cheaper option in one of the chain stores like Penneys or New Look.The same can be said for other stuff such as electronics etc.

I hate to paint such a depressing picture of retail in the town but it's in dire straits,yes the place is looking well(for the most part) but the streets are empty and the town is losing it's soul.Just look at old photo's of the town when it was the market hub of the county to see how it's lost out.

Even Bunclody is catching up on us and that's a small place,there goes another catchment area that used to shop in the town.They have a new Aldi store which will be another reason for them not to drive to Enniscorthy which a lot of them did.
As a town in the dead centre of the county we should be the main hub for everything but thanks to years of head in the sand,myopic thinking and greed by the establishment we've lost out big time and I'm afraid those losses will never be recovered.

As for charging deriliction rates on the old Dunnes site just look at the farce of the old Murphy Floods site where those charges were applied but ignored and then the owner rented the ground to the council for a car park.

It's disposable household income figures per the catchment not based on where that's spent

Don't disagree with many of the points been made.

any chance of getting them to board up that doss house beside the bridge - what a eye sore, pity when the rest of the town is looking well, really letting the place down