Special Feature in Irish Times regarding Waterford

spookwoman

Hear another business gone McLoughlan's pub on o'connell street. Selling for €145,000 rates €5213 for 2013

We keep hearing from people about the viking triangle, reginalds tower and the house of crystal, how many times a week, month or year do they actually visit or buy stuff from these places?

BadCharlie

People are strapped for cash and no other county more so then Waterford with over 19% unemployment & the under 25's unemployment figures even higher. Lots of places are closing down is cause people don't have JOBS. No jobs no cash, no cash no spending. Like I said we don't want to see tiger days because at the end of each tiger you get what we are having now.

Waterford is far from a kip, and I would bet that if unemployment dropped to single figures again people here would be saying it’s not a kip after all, so your whole issue was with unemployment in the first place.

The council can do very little about Waterford unemployment figures. The real issue is Waterford has been over looked time and time again by its own government.

Cabaal

spookwoman wrote: »

We keep hearing from people about the viking triangle, reginalds tower and the house of crystal, how many times a week, month or year do they actually visit or buy stuff from these places?

You know these are tourist attractions right?

Like most local tourist attractions, local people might venture into them a hand full of times over the course of decades.

Majority of Waterford people I've talked to have visited Reginalds tower once and that was part of some school tour when they were in school,

These places still bring tourists into the city which has a benefit to the city in other ways, nights in hotels, meals etc and with these things come jobs and benefits to the people in the city.

In comparison most Kilkenny people have been on the Kilkenny Castle tour once or maybe twice during their life, but the castle still brings people to the city. This along with other attractions bring benefits in the same way as tourists attractions can in Waterford.

fricatus

spookwoman wrote: »

We keep hearing from people about the viking triangle, reginalds tower and the house of crystal, how many times a week, month or year do they actually visit or buy stuff from these places?

Had lunch in the Waterford Crystal Café at the weekend and the Granary the weekend before that. We try to have lunch somewhere like the Theatre Royal's café, Aoife's, Gallwey's or the Bishop's Palace at least every second weekend.

We don't have a huge amount of disposable income, but pretty much everything we spend, we try to spend in Waterford - city centre where possible. I only buy off Amazon.com if it's something I know the Book Centre doesn't stock. A book might cost me €3 more, but that premium is worth it to me to have a wonderful bookshop in our city.

I was abroad staying with people on two occasions and made sure to bring a gift of Waterford crystal to one and Penrose to another.

You've also got to remember that it's February (which along with January is one of the slowest months of the year for trade). Plenty of things have an effect on people's spend, and I would say that the Christmas hangover is lasting that bit longer given how much unemployment there is, plus extra taxes. The government is taking over €500 from me next month in property tax so that they can pay for Anglo - money which I would gladly be spending on a few new shirts and trousers in Debenhams or somewhere. There's also the really crappy weather. None of these factors are peculiar to Waterford!

spookwoman

I know they are tourist attractions but people keep going on about them but what's for people living in Waterford to see and enjoy. BadCharlie mad a point people dont have money to spend these days and TBH at xmas when looking to go have a look around medieval museum, €7 a person made me walk out the door, its the same for Bishops Palace. Not every holiday maker is going to have the money to go around to these places either or be interested in visiting them. So what else is there here, nothing so they head out to Tramore, Dunmore. Give it a few years and House of crystal will be a museum as well because people will only be interested in the glass that was made here in Waterford. Waterford need to think of itself and its people first because they are the ones living and spending their money here.
Fair play if someone can eat out once a week but a lot of people can't afford to even do that once a month. Its sad to read when people are asking where they can go elsewhere in waterford to get something done because some places are seriously over priced.

It shouldnt matter what time of the year it is to see people out and about and enjoying their surroundings but as I said there is nothing like that in waterford. Abroad the quays have shops, markets, food places and they are open for people to sit, relax and enjoy the water. There are gulls, boats ups and down, people fishing, eating, etc the places feel alive. Here the quay is the most uninviting place to go and the locked off jetties give it that feel of keeping the great unwashed out.

mike65

Not all bad news

http://www.waterford-today.ie/waterford-today-news/22258-waterford-ranked-top-micro-city-for-fdi-strategy-22258.html

7upfree

Motivator wrote: »

If people don't believe the town is in the toilet then I suggest they take a walk around the city centre in a Friday evening, Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon. Prime shopping days in the city & days where one would expect to see a crowd & a bit of buzz. Sadly this isn't the case. Walk in around city square & Michael st. These are areas of the town which were once busy but are now desolate. The city council should be held accountable instead of being praised. People are talking about positivity, ask the staff in Debenhams & Dunnes stores are they positive about things. Last Sunday in Dunnes the upstairs department took in a grand total of €100. How depressing is that? Debenhams are struggling in the same way. Waterford people aren't frequenting the city centre & who could blame them? The quay is a disgrace, the cost of parking in town is a disgrace & the way the town looks is a disgrace. People may not want to believe it but it's the truth. Why would anyone visit Waterford in it's current state? The fitzwilton is closing & the grand is closed in Tramore. Waterford has become a black hole & what was once an attractive city has become an out & out kip. Looking back at the tall ships 3 years ago, it was a wonderful week & everyone seemed to forget their troubles, 3 years on I wonder how many of the many thousands of visitors have returned? I'd say the percentage is very very low. Waterford had the chance to be put on the map on an national & international scale but sadly the council missed their chance.

A lot of sense spoken there. Particularly the last sentence. The Council seem to bury their heads in the sand and ignore any kind of feedback from citizens. The debacle on the Quay and three months to build a roundabout at the Northern Exit of the IDA is testimony to this. It is, quite frankly, laughable.

However, Waterford City is far from being a "kip". One of the best places you could ever live, with people who are the salt of this Earth. However, successive Governments and City Councils have failed to deliver on the core issues:

1. A University - and not some Frankenstein "Technological" University.

2. The development of Waterford Airport.

3. A boundary extension into KK to allow the city to develop radially and naturally.

These are the issues which, if resolved, will drive this City - and the surrounding areas - forward. However, the FG party seems determined to prevent this at every opportunity.

This is a beautiful City and County. I don't need to weigh the pros and cons as the pros far outweigh the cons. The biggest con (part from the stroke pulled on the electorate in 2011) is our under-representation at every political level.

Until that is resolved then nothing can - or will - change.

Psychedelic

Motivator wrote: »

If people don't believe the town is in the toilet then I suggest they take a walk around the city centre in a Friday evening, Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon. Prime shopping days in the city & days where one would expect to see a crowd & a bit of buzz. Sadly this isn't the case. Walk in around city square & Michael st. These are areas of the town which were once busy but are now desolate. The city council should be held accountable instead of being praised. People are talking about positivity, ask the staff in Debenhams & Dunnes stores are they positive about things. Last Sunday in Dunnes the upstairs department took in a grand total of €100. How depressing is that? Debenhams are struggling in the same way. Waterford people aren't frequenting the city centre & who could blame them? The quay is a disgrace, the cost of parking in town is a disgrace & the way the town looks is a disgrace. People may not want to believe it but it's the truth. Why would anyone visit Waterford in it's current state? The fitzwilton is closing & the grand is closed in Tramore. Waterford has become a black hole & what was once an attractive city has become an out & out kip. Looking back at the tall ships 3 years ago, it was a wonderful week & everyone seemed to forget their troubles, 3 years on I wonder how many of the many thousands of visitors have returned? I'd say the percentage is very very low. Waterford had the chance to be put on the map on an national & international scale but sadly the council missed their chance.

The Fitzwilton is not closing down.

Hundreds of shops still open in the city centre. They may be struggling, but they are still open, which must mean they are, shock horror, actually making money from local shoppers, shoppers which you think mustn't exist.

Public parking is only €1 per hour Mon-Sat, free on Sundays.

Waterford was put on the map on an international scale and is continuing to be. Remember that new thing called Winterval that brought in 250k visitors in 2012 and 500k visitors in 2013? Huge amount of national PR around that, and some abroad too.

For an "out and out kip" the city seems to still top the list of cleanest & tidiest cities in Ireland every year.

spookwoman wrote: »

Visit http://www.waterfordtourism.com it's the same links not working or very poor quality. Its like the city has just given up or doesn't give a sh*t and if you don't bury your head in the sand like the others it turns on you.

That is not the official tourism website for the city, this is: http://www.discoverwaterfordcity.ie/

As for the city "giving up", utter garbage like most of the other negative tripe in this thread and all the other threads on this forum, considering the massive efforts by so many people and organisations trying to promote the city, most of the time to try and negate the perception of the city that people like you create.

spookwoman wrote: »

I know they are tourist attractions but people keep going on about them but what's for people living in Waterford to see and enjoy. BadCharlie mad a point people dont have money to spend these days and TBH at xmas when looking to go have a look around medieval museum, €7 a person made me walk out the door, its the same for Bishops Palace. Not every holiday maker is going to have the money to go around to these places either or be interested in visiting them. So what else is there here, nothing so they head out to Tramore, Dunmore. Give it a few years and House of crystal will be a museum as well because people will only be interested in the glass that was made here in Waterford. Waterford need to think of itself and its people first because they are the ones living and spending their money here.
Fair play if someone can eat out once a week but a lot of people can't afford to even do that once a month. Its sad to read when people are asking where they can go elsewhere in waterford to get something done because some places are seriously over priced.

It shouldnt matter what time of the year it is to see people out and about and enjoying their surroundings but as I said there is nothing like that in waterford. Abroad the quays have shops, markets, food places and they are open for people to sit, relax and enjoy the water. There are gulls, boats ups and down, people fishing, eating, etc the places feel alive. Here the quay is the most uninviting place to go and the locked off jetties give it that feel of keeping the great unwashed out.

The weather has been atrocious since the start of the year, not exactly enticing for people to go out and hang around in.

Absolutely everything in the city costs, nothing free to do to attract people in, like all those free arts/music/food/culture festivals... nah, nothing to do in Waterford unless you're a millionaire.

Our Quay has shops. There are markets and food places in the city. No fishing but there are cruise liners & navy vessels that visit, and the usual boats in the marina, and even a river tour business operating there. The "locked off jetties" are not about keeping people out, the jetties for people who park their boats there and who pay to do so. But you forgot about the massive public plaza right beside it, so it's not a conspiracy by the City Council, or the "fat cats in City Hall" as you probably like to call them, to keep us "great unwashed" away from the river.

The city has seen better days but it ain't half as bad as you make it out.

Silverado

BadCharlie wrote: »

The council can do very little about Waterford unemployment figures. The real issue is Waterford has been over looked time and time again by its own government.

I'm not so sure that I agree with you there. On the contrary the Council took a very positive approach to Waterford Crystal in 2009/10 and it is mainly due them that we have the factory and showroom today. WWRD have reported a profit this year and let's hope that it all gets better and better for them, they are keeping our tourist industry alive in Waterford.

We do so badly need jobs in Waterford, both City and County and we also need hope for the future so that our young people don't all have to head to Australia etc.

If the IDA aren't coming up with the jobs (which they aren't) then why not another local initiative. Perhaps it would be a great platform for one of the new parties who are going to contest the Local Election in May. I can think of lots of manufacturing projects which could create employment but they would need investment and support.

Its not easy for the ordinary public today to start an industry but a local authority could. A new industry would need production space, training and money. The latter could be provided by a Private Public Partnership and/or the European Investment Bank if the Council can't find much in the way of funding from its own coffers. Production space we have a lot of unfortunately and training can easily done locally. The product and marketing of course are vital but perhaps we should consider something in the renewable energy area which should attract support from Brussels.

If Waterford City Council were able to do in in 2009/10 for Waterford Crystal then why not do it again and show us, the people of Waterford, how the new enlarged Council is going to help us toward a new future since nobody else will.

BadCharlie

@ Silverado : What Waterford Crystal got was a once off deal. Do you even know what deal Waterford Crystal Got? Do you know the amount of people are employed in Waterford Crystal? Its the governament & not the council who can turn our employment figures around. The jobs saved above made a little dint in our over 19% unemployment figures.

For the few people that work in Waterford Crystal, they left more people go within WCC own staff & replaced some with Job Bridge people, but mostly not at all.

The funds to do above was taking from paul to pay peter. But i do strongly agree it was a very good move. For WCC to do it again im not sure they would, they are still been slapped on the knuckles by the governament for not going through proper procedures.

fricatus

It's also the case that the council did what it did because Waterford Crystal is the largest tourist attraction in the south-east, and we could not afford to lose it - this would have been a devastating blow.

When Waterford Wedgwood went under, there were calls for the government to step in (on this basis alone), but their response was "oooh no, we couldn't possibly use public money to rescue a failing private enterprise - shur that would go totally against the interests of the taxpayer!"

Scarcely 18 months later, they were stepping in with vaultloads of cash to rescue Anglo, AIB, BOI, PTSB, EBS and Irish Nationwide. B@stards, changing the rules when it suits them! :mad:

Silverado

BadCharlie wrote: »

@ Silverado : What Waterford Crystal got was a once off deal. Do you even know what deal Waterford Crystal Got? Do you know the amount of people are employed in Waterford Crystal? Its the governament & not the council who can turn our employment figures around. The jobs saved above made a little dint in our over 19% unemployment figures.

For the few people that work in Waterford Crystal, they left more people go within WCC own staff & replaced some with Job Bridge people, but mostly not at all.

The funds to do above was taking from paul to pay peter. But i do strongly agree it was a very good move. For WCC to do it again im not sure they would, they are still been slapped on the knuckles by the governament for not going through proper procedures.

Yes, I know exactly what happened and I'm not going to discuss it again here. My point is that if we did it once then maybe we can do it again and it would be an excellent platform for the new enlarged Council to make its entree to the Waterford scene. Waterford Corporation did it in 1981 with the Airport.

BadCharlie

If i was a shop owner, pub, factorie ect. And you see the special deal Waterford Crystal got & if any other place was giving the same deal... i would be knocking on WCC door and asking for the same deal. And why should i pay and they don't?

It could get out of hand very fast, with WCC budget reduced to even lower levels.

One place i would like to add to the list is Waterford Castle. I know when my America Relations come to waterford, whats the one place they want to go to "Waterford Castle". Its hard to believe they never been in a castle before, seening that most of us from our school tour days would be brought to a castle.

Cabaal

BadCharlie wrote: »

One place i would like to add to the list is Waterford Castle. I know when my America Relations come to waterford, whats the one place they want to go to "Waterford Castle". Its hard to believe they never been in a castle before, seening that most of us from our school tour days would be brought to a castle.

Waterford castle is a poor excuse for a castle in fairness, it barely even looks the part. Awful shame really

If I was bringing a tourist to ant castle in Waterford I'd opt for Lismore,

mike65

Lismore Castle is not a true castle either! But it looks the part.

Cabaal

mike65 wrote: »

Lismore Castle is not a true castle either! But it looks the part.

True, in the scale of things is all pretty new but it certainly looks better then Waterford Castle

comeraghs

Hopefully everybody gets out & supports the 1848 Tricolour festival, a great locally driven weekend.


http://www.1848tricolour.com/

comeraghs

Psychedelic wrote: »

The Fitzwilton is not closing down.

Hundreds of shops still open in the city centre. They may be struggling, but they are still open, which must mean they are, shock horror, actually making money from local shoppers, shoppers which you think mustn't exist.

Public parking is only €1 per hour Mon-Sat, free on Sundays.

Waterford was put on the map on an international scale and is continuing to be. Remember that new thing called Winterval that brought in 250k visitors in 2012 and 500k visitors in 2013? Huge amount of national PR around that, and some abroad too.

For an "out and out kip" the city seems to still top the list of cleanest & tidiest cities in Ireland every year.


That is not the official tourism website for the city, this is: http://www.discoverwaterfordcity.ie/

As for the city "giving up", utter garbage like most of the other negative tripe in this thread and all the other threads on this forum, considering the massive efforts by so many people and organisations trying to promote the city, most of the time to try and negate the perception of the city that people like you create.


The weather has been atrocious since the start of the year, not exactly enticing for people to go out and hang around in.

Absolutely everything in the city costs, nothing free to do to attract people in, like all those free arts/music/food/culture festivals... nah, nothing to do in Waterford unless you're a millionaire.

Our Quay has shops. There are markets and food places in the city. No fishing but there are cruise liners & navy vessels that visit, and the usual boats in the marina, and even a river tour business operating there. The "locked off jetties" are not about keeping people out, the jetties for people who park their boats there and who pay to do so. But you forgot about the massive public plaza right beside it, so it's not a conspiracy by the City Council, or the "fat cats in City Hall" as you probably like to call them, to keep us "great unwashed" away from the river.

The city has seen better days but it ain't half as bad as you make it out.

Here Here!

thomasm

Be interested to see if there are any stats on how many people living outside Waterford City work in Waterford. Most mornings it's a constant stream of traffic from Dungarvan and New Ross direction and to a lesser extent Kilkenny/Clonmel coming into the city. The knock on effect is that they leave to go back 'home' and take wages with them which is not reinvested locally.

bilibob

An awful lot of those cars are coming into town to go shopping, for services in the city etc. bringing kids to lessons and different things, orthodontists, swimming, cinema. Not to mention bringing kids to school- Look how much quieter the traffic was this week.