ARKLOW WILL RISE AGAIN Regardless of who you are what you are and what you think you are this is relevant to you and your family, even if you think it is not. Reading this is one thing, acting upon it is something completely different. That is something that you and you alone can choose to do. By changing the way we think we can change the way we live every day for the better, for the place in which we live and those who live along side us. I have lived in Arklow town for 7 years and regardless of whether you are from here or not is irrelevant, once you live in a place that place becomes part of you and you become part of it. That is inevitable. I can remember Arklow Town when it was the most progressive town in Ireland by a long way, in the early 1980’s the unemployment rate nationally was 9%, today it is 11.5%, in Arklow Town it was in incredible 1% less, today it is over 20%. No town in Ireland before or since had so many people in work and few towns in Europe for that matter. Emigration in Arklow was unknown unlike the rest of Ireland down through the decades but that is no longer the case as so many of you reading this will testify to, as you’re thinking of your children working abroad, perhaps starting families in a foreign land, when they should have had the opportunity to work and live here. Hard to imagine 30 years ago when Arklow was booming that emigration and unemployment would ever worry such an industrious town. Decades before the so called “Celtic Tiger” days and long commutes, busloads of people, the original commuters travelled to Arklow every day in their droves to work from as far away as New Ross, Bray, Dun Laoghaire and even further afield. But in the last 25 years all these places have closed and the bus loads of workers have long gone and the money they spent with them. NET, Brennan’s Bakery, Armitage Shanks, Eirgas, Shoe factory, Soap factory, implant factory, Gypsum factory, Naplast, Vitra Tiles, Qualceram, Globfan, Arklow Pottery/Noritake and others I cannot remember, as well as the 3rd busiest port in Ireland after Dublin and Cork. How many ships of industry dock in Arklow port now considering the rich ship building heritage we have? Of all the former industries the one held with the greatest affection was Arklow Pottery later to become Arklow Pottery/Noritake which at its height employed over 1300 people and which was more than an industry, it became synonymous with Arklow Town and engrained in the lives of so many generations of families who worked there making an exceptional product uniquely designed that was used in every household several times a day. Quite amazing to sit down at meal times knowing that somebody on your street in your town made the bowls, plates, mugs, cups etc. that you and drank from. Psychologically even after 16 years Arklow town still hasn’t fully dealt with or recovered from its closure. Would English Wedgwood or Royal Doulton have let their proud way of life go so quietly into the night and extinction? Sad to see the original pottery demolished in July 2014, where in most other countries they preserve their proud history and heritage, why wasn’t a museum and interactive interpretive type centre set up in its place with examples of all the different types of products made down through the 64 years of its existence and all the different processes involved and even people making pottery on site with a coffee shop/restaurant etc. to cater for tourists. A niche market still exists for quality Arklow pottery. Ironically it could still exist and be open in its 80th year. Few towns in Europe within 35 minutes of its capital and seat of parliament are in such a derelict and dilapidated state with over 70 retail premises boarded up along its main street excluding the huge amount of empty warehouses and factories which blight the landscape and still we are waiting in 2014 for a raw sewage treatment plant. Strange the way that the Bridgewater Shopping Centre was built next to the most toxic and polluted river in Ireland according to the EPA, the Avoca River without a proper sewage treatment plant?? But there is so much Arklow has that are positives. Strategically placed 35 minutes or less with the new road network to our capital opening next year, a deep sea port that could easily accommodate a roll on roll off Ferry and Cruise ships where tourists could explore Arklow, the Vale of Avoca and Wicklow’s rich history. Seafood restaurants and other retail premises would open, unspoilt beaches, boat trips up and down the coast etc. like most European coastal towns who maximise their potential and what they have, not what they had. Politicians and other Public Representatives must lobby for a 3rd level institute which can bring in excess of 10,000 new people to a town and with it new ideas and cultures as other unemployment stricken places such as Waterford and Carlow have done and are now thriving with their Universities. Unlike Factories and Industries, Universities and 3rd Level Institutes never ever close but instead expand and grow in tandem with the towns they are in. If Arklow had a 3rd level institute on the site of the Old Ormonde Arena, the derelict NET factory or down near the docklands, there would not be one vacant premises on the Main Street regardless of the greed of some landlords. Large retails groups will pay the rents asked to be near an Institute of Learning because unlike some, they see the bigger picture rather than monetary gain. Landlords at present are totally unrealistic when it comes to rent levels on the Main Street and rates are far too high for any business to be viable never mind profitable. Rent and rates for the 1st year should be at least 40% less than the current rate to encourage businesses to re-open on the Main Street and then adjusted incremtally if profits rise for that business to a fair rate. Rents and rates should and must be only paid on space that is used. I ask this question to landlords on the Main Street, What will you be remembered for? Progression or Regression and Greed. Pedestrianize the main street from 10 am to 2 pm when school runs and local deliveries are finished. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on a trial basis where certain shops do special offers on different days to try and encourage footfall back onto the Main Street. Arklow town has to rediscover its identity and be more than a cheap residential, renting commuter town where people travel elsewhere to work. Ark low’s potential is truly endless and the only limits that exist are in our minds. When we look outwards past our own lives, worries and concerns, mortgages, jobs, family, the slavery of the social media etc. to something bigger. It is then that we find true freedom and a true sense of community. If the population of this town of almost 15,000 people do something positive everyday even in a small way to try and enhance the place in which we live then positive change is evitable and it gathers momentum which becomes continuous for generations. Apathy only breeds apathy. After reading this what will you do to contribute something positive as your parents’ did to make this town great in the past? What will you do for its future and the future of this and the next generation? What will your contribution be to the place you call home? People say something cannot be done, then it is done, past failures are only mistakes not rectified, the future is unwritten. How are you different and what will your legacy be? Paul Tuomey 087 7809397.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 10:39:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015