LOCAL businesses say Naas town centre has finally turned a corner and is fighting back despite a local TD raising the issue of the unfinished shopping centre in the Dáil last week.
Deputy Bernard Durkin highlighted the extent to which the town of Naas has been affected by the economic downturn and called on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to use his powers of persuasion with the local authorities to try to achieve some movement on the procedures that have been stalled.
“Arbitration has moved extremely slowly over recent years and is now stalled again and postponed for another year,” said Deputy Durkin.
“This means we must see the continual reminder of the tower cranes stalled like animal predators on the skyline. These stalled cranes are symbolic of what has happened.”
However CEO of North Kildare Chamber, Alan Shine, says things haven’t looked so positive for the town in a long time.
“The opening of Meadows and Byrne last week is the single biggest thing to happen for retail since the opening of Superquinn,” he said.
“Not only did we get a high end furniture and living store but a state of the art coffee house with Costa.
“Naas is 100% fighting back and we are bucking the trend.”
He added that the spin off from the Punchestown festival for local restaurants, shops and pubs bet all previous records and pointed out that 90,000 people arrived in Kildare recently with the Irish Open.
“We are looking forward to the Irish Derby also, which is just around the corner,” he said.
Deputy Durkin said in the Dáil last week that with each passing day and week, “there is greater recognition by the people, business people in particular, that something must be done to get movement going again”.
“Despite the fact considerable efforts have been made so far in this regard, we need to renew our efforts,” he said.
He asked the Minister of State to consider carefully how it might be possible for his department to intervene in a positive way to nudge the powers that be in the direction required to bring about a restoration of activity and “bring to an end this blight that has befallen the town of Naas, the leading provincial town of County Kildare, which is bedevilled by the impact of the downturn in the economy, as symbolised by the immobilised cranes”.
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Damien English, said in reponse that the proposed development in Naas is, unfortunately, one of the casualties of the recent economic recession in that it was proposed to commence at the wrong time.
“As a consequence, it has been stalled since,” he said.
“This is a shame because as it is a town centre and it should be developed before areas outside the town are developed.”
He added that he was informed by Kildare County Council that the securing of a satisfactory conclusion to the development of the Naas town centre site is a priority issue for the council and that the progression and reactivation of the development has been a particular focus of its efforts over recent years.
“The department has also been keen to see that development,” he said.
“The deputy is correct that there is interest on all sides in the development, but we need to find some way to make it happen. I will use whatever powers I can to help on this issue and to try to move the project along. I do not have a direct role, but I will try to do what I can.”
He added that the council recently successfully completed an agreement with one of two site owners relating to the provision of roads infrastructure to service the town centre site.
“The arbitration case relating to the second site owner remains to be heard by the property arbitrator, but I understand that the hearing in this case is delayed due to the property arbitrator’s current caseload,” he said.
“We will look to see what we can do to make progress in this regard because the long delay is unsatisfactory. The remainder of the stalled town centre development in Naas is in NAMA, but I understand that the council, in parallel with the arbitration proceedings, has been engaged in ongoing discussions with relevant parties with a view to advancing development of the site at the earliest possible date.”
He pointed out that his role as Minister of State in regard to planning and development generally is to provide and update the legislative and policy guidance framework as required, including in regard to national urban policy.
