Plan to put new life into towns and villages in County Tipperary

A move to inject fresh vibrancy and enterprise into the heart of Co Tipperary towns such as Nenagh was initiated by the elected members of the County Council at their monthly meeting on Monday.

The local authority is to offer financial incentives to individuals who set up new enterprises in vacant business properties in towns across the county.

Grants will also be made available to entrepreneurs in villages who re-open  vacant properties to operate businesses.

The council said generous grants will be made available under its new Vacant Business Property Re-open Grant Scheme, endorsed by elected members at the council meeting in the Civic Offices in Nenagh.

Kathleen Prendergast, a staff member of the council’s Economic Development and Community Enterprise Office, who was praised by councillors for the key role she played in devising the scheme, outlined details of the initiative.

Ms Prendergast said the scheme was aimed at fostering economic resilience in towns and villages by marketing their individual strengths.

She said the aim of the scheme was to make towns and villages ‘destinations’ that would attract visitors and business rather than merely places that people passed through.

Ms Prendergast said that in devising the scheme, the council had established that there was significant over-representation of certain shops on the main streets of  towns in Tipperary.

These included betting shops, discount stores, off-licences, barber outlets and vape shops. Individuals setting up businesses such as these on prime town streets would not be grant supported.

Individuals or companies interested in moving into vacant properties to establish hospitality or tourism related services on the main streets of towns and villages would be supported under the scheme.

Financial incentives would also be offered under the scheme for those setting up enterprises such as  fine dining, music tuition and some other specific services that added to the attractions and created distinctiveness in town centres.

Ms Prendergast said the aim of the council was to introduce the scheme as soon as possible.

‘SETTING A TONE’

Council Director Brian Beck the scheme was aimed at “setting a tone” for towns and villages in Tipperary - the ultimate aim being to create resilient and vibrant places to live, work and visit.

Cllr Marie Murphy, who chaired the special policy committee that spearheaded the scheme, said the aim was to reduce the number of vacant business properties in towns and villages. It was also aimed at countering the negative impact of online shopping on town and village economies - by creating new commercial ventures on the ground.

Cllr Joe Hannigan said the council needed to change its policy in relation to granting planning permissions to large multinational companies to operate businesses on the periphery on  towns in cases where they were in direct competition with shops in town centres. Several town centre shops had closed over recent years due to such competition. Cllr Phyll Bugler welcomed the scheme, expressing the hope that it would help family and indigenous shops to survive.

Cllr Willie Kennedy said small family-owned shops were disappearing. The government needed to provide more incentives to help such enterprises.

Individuals re-opening vacant buildings to boost the night-time economy are also to be supported under the scheme.  But Cllr J P O’ Meara and Cllr John Fitzgerald said a key to boosting this sector would be properly functioning hackney and taxi services to transport patrons to and from towns and villages.

Mr Beck said one of the sad trends now emerging in towns across Tipperary was the closure of long-established family run businesses because the younger generation did not wish to take over.