Shutters - Wexford Town

oldyouth

It may be an urban myth, but I always understood that the the Council prohibited shops in Wexford Town from instaling external roller shutters. Can I ask if anyone has definitive information about this?

Thanks

vicwatson

There are certianly shops that have external shutters. A mate of mine was telling me that he knows a guy that's a pharmacist in town and he had to put them on the inside and NOT outside. So I'd say those that already have them - grand, those that need to put them up now would have to put them up inside the shop. Only way to find out definitively is to contact the council and ask their policy (which could of course be of differing opinion depending on who you get to talk to !)

oldyouth

Thanks Vic, the problem is not security but I need to prevent windows getting kicked in. Internal shutters wouldn't be much use there.

I'll give the Council a buzz and see what they say. Cheers

Corvo

The Carryout in town put up a rack of metal bars at the end of the night on the outside.

I know because I often stare through them at the lovely, lovely beer

<salivates>

Supertech

According to the 2009 -2015 Wexford Town and Environs Development Plan "external shutters will not be permitted on shop fronts in prime retail areas of the town"

(Section 11.10.01 Shopfront Design)

oldyouth

Supertech wrote: »

According to the 2009 -2015 Wexford Town and Environs Development Plan "external shutters will not be permitted on shop fronts in prime retail areas of the town"

(Section 11.10.01 Shopfront Design)

Thanks. Town Council must think a line of broken windows on a Sunday morning is far more attractive to tourists than shutters

Supertech

I agree - makes little sense. I'd be ready to bet that this is at least part of what's causing the collapes in the number of businesses along the main street in particular. It's bad enough with rental prices, rates, service charges etc, without being told that you can't erect a shutter to protect your property at night.

Ian7

I think there needs to be some give and take on this issue, roller shutters can in some instances dramatically reduce the image of an area or street but as mentioned above, windows being shattered every weekend is hardly ideal either.

I think the council should examine and approve some form of window protection that doesn't detract from the streetscape. This is just an example but I think timber shutters (oops, almost left an "i" in there) would look great, don't know how everyone else feels about this though. I know there would be more work involved in opening and shutting.

To be fair, there are towns and villages around the world where strict planning laws enforce all sorts of restrictions on materials, finishings and stylings for even the smallest of details and I think we're lucky we're not under such restrictions. It could be a lot worse.

RKQ

Roller shutters are not a new concept. Traditionally shops had timber folding shutters that were erected over the windows at closing time.

Many shops also had metal railings fitted over the windows, these didn't cover the full height of the window but they did prevent people breaking the window or sitting on the window cill.

Maybe lightweight metal railings could be used today?
They would look traditional and prevent the window being kicked in. They would be relatively easy to fit at closing time. There could be great variey in the metal bar shape & design.