'Really encouraging': Casual trading byelaws adopted by Longford County Council
The draft document went to public consultation with a closing date of January 11 last and there was then an extensive consultation phase carried out with all of the municipal districts.
Draft casual trading byelaws were adopted at last week's local authority meeting after being recommended for approval.
Director of Services Barbara Heslin said it is very encouraging that 'new businesses are looking to come' to their towns and villages.
She stated that the draft document went to public consultation with a closing date of January 11 last and there was then an extensive consultation phase carried out with all of the municipal districts.
"That was so that each of them could bring up any concerns or suggestions you had in relation to the casual trading byelaws.
"And this followed a number of concerns that elected members had brought to our attention about the way things were operating in some towns and villages.
"So, following the consultation the environment section who carried out such significant work in drafting these then liaised with the TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) and our roads section to get their input into the draft byelaws.
“It was really important to engage with TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) and our roads section in relation to those so we could ensure they did not cause any safety issues."
Ms Heslin said they have completed that process and they have recommended them for approval.
"We have engaged with the existing traders who are there at the moment who are using the towns and villages for trading on a casual basis, but since we actually started publishing this and we had the public consultation we've had interest from other traders which is really interesting and encouraging.
"Because that is what we want to try and do, to build up people coming to our towns to carry out business but not at the detriment of existing businesses either."
Ms Heslin said the council's proposal was that following a recommendation to adopt the byelaws that they would commence from January 1, 2027.
She stated they would advertise an opportunity for individuals to apply for a licence and they would continue their engagement with existing traders.
Chair of the physical development SPC, Cllr Turlough McGovern, who proposed the adoption of the byelaws, thanked Ms Heslin and her team, the roads team and the TII section for their tremendous work.
"It's all about bringing more people into our rural towns along with our county town."