Vacant units and disconnection hurting vibrancy of Letterkenny – Report

A new survey of the strengths and opportunities for Letterkenny has identified a major disconnect between the two main areas of the town.

The report, entitled Letterkenny: Heart of Donegal, was conducted by students of Queen’s University Belfast carried out a ‘health check’ on the town centre. A number of key issues were identified that affect business owners and shoppers’ activities.

93% of people surveyed felt that the connections between Main Street and the retail parks were very poor.

The report identified that: “Main Street is currently negatively impacted by vacant units and dead frontages, which breaks up the coherence and continuity of the streetscape and detracts from the vibrancy of the local street life.

“Vacancy is also an issue within the retail park and adjacent industrial area as large units are sitting vacant,” said the report.

The Main Street had an 18% ground floor vacancy rate at the time of the study.

Parking in Letterkenny was another key issue examined in the survey.

80% of people travelled into Letterkenny by car, while the report identified a lack of knowledge over available parking spaces.

“There is a perception among locals that there is nowhere to park in the centre of Letterkenny, however, the private multistorey car parks can accommodate over 1,200 cars and are all within a five minute walk, or less, from the main street,” the report said.

The report found that 14 car parks were underutilised in the town centre. It also suggested that creating streets to be pedestrian-friendly rather than car-friendly will increase footfall and vitality in the town centre.

43% of respondents identified a greater need for public transport to improve the accessibility of Letterkenny.

In fact, ‘Traffic’ was one of the top 6 words that sprang to people’s minds when asked what they think about Letterkenny. The other words were: Shopping, Cathedral, Nightlife, Tourism and Institute of Technology.

The report suggested the introduction of ‘Parklets’ to the Main Street, where car parking spaces are turned into outdoor public seating areas. It also recommended pop-up shops to breathe new life into the town centre.

Other surveys showed that 93% of business operators feel that Brexit will have a negative impact on their business. 87% of them stated they have already noticed a decrease in crossborder trade since the announcement of Brexit.

Letterkenny, as the largest town in Donegal, is not only the county’s commercial centre but it also services the cross-border

rural hinterland of the Northwest Region with Derry

The survey findings will be launched today by the Heritage Council, Queen’s University Belfast and Donegal County Council. The report will help to inform plans for the future management and revitalisation of the historic town centre.

The completion of physical survey work, interviews and questionnaires informed a number of policy and design proposals and ideas to regenerate Letterkenny. These include the creation of a multi-modal transportation hub, an urban greenway network to connect Main Street to the Letterkenny Public Service Centre; enhanced public realm along Main Street and Market Square and a ‘Slips strategy’ to improve the connections from Main Street to the more recent developments on Pearse Road and beyond.

Welcoming the Letterkenny: Heart of Donegal Report 2018, the Mayor of Letterkenny Municipal District, Cllr Ian McGarvey said the report was a positive and constructive basis on which Letterkenny Town Centre can be further enhanced and promoted.

Cllr McGarvey said: “This was a truly unique baseline survey undertaken by enthusiastic students and involving the town’s key strategic partners and it gives us a great framework for taking stock of Letterkenny’s many assets.

“We must be equipped with this sort of data to build for the future. Letterkenny is facing challenging times but has so much to offer, and this health check report by the students will help us to enhance and maximise the quality of life for everyone in the town,” he said.

Toni Forrester, CEO of Letterkenny Chamber highlighted that the report provides useful signposts for the future: “A healthy and vibrant town centre is important for everyone who lives, works and visits Letterkenny. As we work to develop Letterkenny and realise its ambitions this report has given us a focus and ideas that stakeholders have embraced.

“It offers a great step forward in helping to further enhance what Letterkenny has to offer its citizens and visitors and to strengthen its image – both nationally and internationally,” she said.

The full report is available to read now at: www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Letterkenny_Town_Centre_Health_Check.pdf

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