Councillors urge investment in Ballina-Killaloe following closure of old bridge

Councillors have called for a comprehensive package of supports for the business sector in Ballina-Killaloe as they acknowledged that local shops face a challenging future due to the permanent pedestrianisation of the old bridge across the River Shannon linking the two towns.

Speaking at the October meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District authority, Cllr Pamela Quirke O’ Meara call for supports for shops and businesses on both sides of the river.

She said business owners in Ballina-Killaloe now faced “a difficult dynamic” because the pedestrianisation of the bridge had diverted traffic to the new crossing of the Shannon that was situated well outside the centres of both towns.

Cllr Quirke O’ Meara said businesses had already been impacted quite badly due to traffic disruption that resulted from the three-year construction of the new bridge, which opened last May.

District Cathaoirleach Cllr Phyll Bugler said it was great for the area that a new bridge had been provided at a cost of €90 million. However, the new bridge was effectively a bypass of Ballina-Killaloe and there had been a noticeable drop in trade in the towns since a trial pedestrianisation of the old bridge was implemented over three months ago.

The latest decision to permanently ban  motorised traffic from the old bridge was going to  badly impact on business going forward; the hospitality sector, in particular, was really suffering.

“We need to market Ballina to get business back into the area because certainly a lot of business has been lost there,” said Cllr Bugler, who called for the council to ensure that the locality was made into “a destination town”.

POOR PARKING

Cllr JP O’ Meara said one of the glaring drawbacks to promoting footfall in Ballina was the lack of public car parks to bring more people into the town. The provision of carparks needed to be a priority for the council.

Cllr John Carroll said all state agencies needed to get together to devise a coordinated plan that would ensure Ballina’s vibrancy going forward. The plan needed to be backed with substantial finance.

Councillors welcomed the recent announcement of €1 million in funding for Ballina-Killaloe through the Rural Regional Development Fund.

Nenagh District Administrator Rosemary Joyce said the funding was granted to draw up a plan to enhance the two towns. The money would not cover any construction work, it was solely to devise a plan for the area.

She said the next step was to appoint consultants to draw up the plan. The lead authority on the issue was Clare County Council. Officials of Tipperary County Council would meet with their Clare counterparts to discuss a plan and how both local authorities would set about delivering that plan in the longterm.