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Does Ballina Town Council do anything to Ballina?

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  • 19-12-2011 10:49pm
    #1
    soterpisc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 298 ✭✭


    Been informing myself about how Argos, McDonalds Boots have been refused access to Ballina..

    I saw signs leaving ballina./. Shop Local.. Why doesn't Ballina Town Council bring business to the community? Seems like the council is bad for Jobs - Bad for Ballina. People are not shopping local because they have a better selection in Castlebar/Sligo and Ballina is stalling.

    Shaws/Pennys welcome additions. But I can't for the life of me understand why they want to refuse more business in the town.


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    #2
    irishgeo
    Registered Users Posts: 9,493 ✭✭✭irishgeo


    soterpisc wrote: »
    Been informing myself about how Argos, McDonalds Boots have been refused access to Ballina..

    I saw signs leaving ballina./. Shop Local.. Why doesn't Ballina Town Council bring business to the community? Seems like the council is bad for Jobs - Bad for Ballina. People are not shopping local because they have a better selection in Castlebar/Sligo and Ballina is stalling.

    Shaws/Pennys welcome additions. But I can't for the life of me understand why they want to refuse more business in the town.
    s

    no idea, it makes you wonder who on the council has business interests that could be affected by these new business.

    is ballina still a employment blackspot?

    i would be be posing these questions to the councillors next time they are up for election


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    #3
    Daisy M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭Daisy M


    Well considering Ballina has one of the highest unemployment figures in Ireland and has had for a long long time, the council need to try a different approach. I suppose it doesnt help when a lot of town councillors own a local shop or are related to someone who does.


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    #4
    irishgeo
    Registered Users Posts: 9,493 ✭✭✭irishgeo


    Daisy M wrote: »
    Well considering Ballina has one of the highest unemployment figures in Ireland and has had for a long long time, the council need to try a different approach. I suppose it doesnt help when a lot of town councillors own a local shop or are related to someone who does.
    My point exactly, personal policy over town policy, it what got this country into the mess in the first place.

    They could create 40 jobs but lose 4 or 5 but if the smaller shop was any good it would aim to compete or at least try.

    It's almost a monopoly these councillors are keeping going by stopping competition so Mary can keep her shop going.


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    #5
    finisklin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,524 ✭✭✭finisklin


    I can only link two councillors to the retail trade....one directly the other via family. One other councillor has a business, not retail.

    Open to Correction......


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    #6
    Daisy M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭Daisy M


    To be honest I am not fully sure of all ballinas councillors but I think, and please correct me if I am wrong, that this is a few of the connections. Mary Kelly is a sister of Padraic Moore who owns homeworld, she is also manager of the local cinema. Is Peter Clarke not from Clarkes fish shop. Gerry Ginty is from Ginty headstones. Barry mcloughlin previous owner of Caffollas not sure if there is still a connection to what was Tullios restaurant but is a brother of the owner of Mcloughlins chemist in Dunnes. Mark Winters is an insurance broker and the rest I dont know about. Now I dont believe it is good for a large majority of the town council to be strongly connected with town business for example if any of the abovewere to receive a lot of custom from a town business owner who objected to a new development is it not possible that they may be influenced into voicing a negative opinion on this new development? I am sure that their are way more friendships and links between town councillors and town business people than we will ever know.


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    #7
    Ilovelucy
    Registered Users Posts: 705 ✭✭✭Ilovelucy


    The Junction objected as did Dorothy McKane.

    Barry McLoughlin has no connection with Tullios anymore.


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    #8
    soterpisc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 298 ✭✭soterpisc


    Daisy M wrote: »
    Well considering Ballina has one of the highest unemployment figures in Ireland and has had for a long long time, the council need to try a different approach. I suppose it doesnt help when a lot of town councillors own a local shop or are related to someone who does.


    you make a point.. Lets face it there are no unemployed people in Ballina with the skills to work in McDonalds. They would find it hard to recruit anyone around here.


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    #9
    soterpisc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 298 ✭✭soterpisc


    Ilovelucy wrote: »
    The Junction objected as did Dorothy McKane.

    Barry McLoughlin has no connection with Tullios anymore.



    The Juction.. I have eaten there once. That's where the Council gets things so wrong.

    Does the Junction open at 7am for breakfast? or have a drive thru?

    More and more I come to realise that Ballina has a Bog Standard Town Council who are better fitted for 1950's Ireland instead of 2011.....


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    #10
    nuac
    Registered Users Posts: 6,769 ✭✭✭nuac


    1. the only function councillors have in planning is to make the town plan. In the Town Plan they could, if t here are sound planning reasons inhibit or prevent retail business in some areas - but such a provision would apply to all developers, local and otherwise


    2. Councillors have no input into individual planning permission applications - decisions confinewdx to planning staff and managemen. Refusals must be for valid planning reasons. May be appealed to ABP.

    3. Therefore I don't believe that a council can keep a particular trader out of Ballina using the planning acts. I am not aware of any other legislation they could use for that purpose.


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    #11
    Daisy M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭Daisy M


    nuac wrote: »
    1. the only function councillors have in planning is to make the town plan. In the Town Plan they could, if t here are sound planning reasons inhibit or prevent retail business in some areas - but such a provision would apply to all developers, local and otherwise


    2. Councillors have no input into individual planning permission applications - decisions confinewdx to planning staff and managemen. Refusals must be for valid planning reasons. May be appealed to ABP.

    3. Therefore I don't believe that a council can keep a particular trader out of Ballina using the planning acts. I am not aware of any other legislation they could use for that purpose.

    Something is going wrong with planning applications in Ballina. It wasnt that many years ago when retail in Castlebar was only on par with Ballina, what has gone so wrong? Why are none of the big chains been allowed into Ballina? It seems to be a closed shop for new business. If its not the councillors who or what is it?


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    #12
    Ilovelucy
    Registered Users Posts: 705 ✭✭✭Ilovelucy


    What about Penneys, Shaws, GameStop then?


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    #13
    Daisy M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭Daisy M


    Ilovelucy wrote: »
    What about Penneys, Shaws, GameStop then?

    Ha Ha I just mentioned them in the other thread!! (I love shaws its like a one stop shop for me!) They are great but we do lag behind other towns for choice and these days when people can travel out of town so easy or order from the internet we need more to draw people into town. Lets just say someone pops into town to visit a particular store they usually end up having a look around and spend money elsewhere too.
    Ballina needs to offer more choice especially to those who live midway between Ballina and Sligo, and Ballina and Castlebar.


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    #14
    soterpisc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 298 ✭✭soterpisc


    Ilovelucy wrote: »
    What about Penneys, Shaws, GameStop then?


    Shaws and Penneys in Ballina are great. Clean new and with lots of space.


    But for some reason (... that only the female sex know) They just have to go to Boots.. and in Castlebar Boots is next door to Shaws. Just to put it into perspective my wife spent 300 euros in Boots last week, she said it was great value as she has 100 on some card boots give... its beyond me, her money her loss... But there does seem to be some attraction to boots in Castlebar.. and she while I am there I can go to Homebase/Next and eat in McD's go to Argos, Elverys or Tesco all in the same area.


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    #15
    Ilovelucy
    Registered Users Posts: 705 ✭✭✭Ilovelucy


    I'm a woman and prefer to put my buck where I earn my living. What people are missing is that yes boots employ people but where are their profits going? I like my local pharmacy where I am on first name terms with the owner. I can get plenty of toiletry bargains in Dunnes and accumulate points and it's Irish owned so money stays here.

    I also support Supervalu a family owned business and try to buy as much as I can in Ballina. At the end of the day we can all get in the car and drive to castlebar but then it's our own fault if our only locally owned shops can't survive.

    Next children closed in Ballina because it was too successful and next in Castlebar was suffering.


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    #16
    soterpisc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 298 ✭✭soterpisc


    Ilovelucy wrote: »
    I'm a woman and prefer to put my buck where I earn my living. What people are missing is that yes boots employ people but where are their profits going? I like my local pharmacy where I am on first name terms with the owner. I can get plenty of toiletry bargains in Dunnes and accumulate points and it's Irish owned so money stays here.

    I also support Supervalu a family owned business and try to buy as much as I can in Ballina. At the end of the day we can all get in the car and drive to castlebar but then it's our own fault if our only locally owned shops can't survive.

    Next children closed in Ballina because it was too successful and next in Castlebar was suffering.

    I think it comes down to a report that boots face creams a clinically proven to be the best...

    I am not from ballina.. So no loyalties here. But I think Ballina has better Restaurants than castlebar.


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    #17
    Daisy M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭Daisy M


    Ilovelucy wrote: »
    I'm a woman and prefer to put my buck where I earn my living. What people are missing is that yes boots employ people but where are their profits going? I like my local pharmacy where I am on first name terms with the owner. I can get plenty of toiletry bargains in Dunnes and accumulate points and it's Irish owned so money stays here.

    I also support Supervalu a family owned business and try to buy as much as I can in Ballina. At the end of the day we can all get in the car and drive to castlebar but then it's our own fault if our only locally owned shops can't survive.

    Next children closed in Ballina because it was too successful and next in Castlebar was suffering.

    I am on first name terms with lots of small shop owners I think most people in small towns are. However it doesnt mean I owe them anything. I will shop where I find the best value and choice, where is convenient to me on a particular day and where I like. There are many local shops that have been in Ballina for many years, hughes, timlins,flair,justin, to name but a few I havent noticed many of the long time locally owned stores going out of business.

    I dont think it makes a lot of difference where you shop if you are not buying Irish produced products.


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