New Mayor wants action to tackle dereliction in Tipperary's largest town

The newly-elected Mayor of Clonmel, Michael Murphy, has called for the appointment of a dedicated Vacancy Officer in Clonmel to deal with dereliction and the number of vacant units in the town centre.

“Clonmel, like many other towns, faces many challenges. I intend to face those challenges as always with a sense of optimism, to work with you, my fellow councillors, and our council team, other key stakeholders as well, in order to realise the ambition and vision we all have for Clonmel and the wider district,” he said following his unanimous election as the town’s first citizen at the annual meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

Cllr Murphy said that you only needed to walk around the town’s prime retail area to see at first hand the extent of those challenges, which included the vacancy rate, the extent of dereliction and a lack of footfall.

“Clonmel is the capital of county Tipperary, the largest town in the county and prides itself in being the largest inland town in the country.

“Along with other councillors, I fought hard for the special designation that it has received in the Economic and Spatial Strategy for the southern region.

“It is my firm belief that Tipperary County Council needs to increase investment and prioritise a number of things for the town, including renewing its efforts to promote Clonmel so that it is an attractive place to work, live and do business; to address the vacancy rate in the town centre; and to influence Uisce Éireann so that the deficiencies in our water supply are addressed as a priority”.

He said that the harmonisation of parking charges, as promised at the 2024 budget meeting, must happen in the context of the 2025 budget.

“Failure in this regard will leave me with no option but to seek support from the members here to reduce on-street parking charges in line with Nenagh and other key towns”.

Cllr Murphy says he believes the town is moving in the right direction but it needs to do so with a greater intensity and sense of urgency. This, he said, was the message clearly expressed to him on the doorsteps during the recent Local Elections campaign.

“I intend to bring that intensity to my role.

“Over the last five years we have put plans in place which set out our ambitions, as a Borough District and as a community, to drive Clonmel and the surrounding areas forward in terms of infrastructure, tourism, recreation, amenity and good health, the goal being always to make Clonmel and the surrounding area better places to live and conduct your business.

“However, it’s not just about putting those plans in place, now it’s about implementing those plans by securing the necessary investment to convert our shared ambitions into reality.

“The last mandate has seen real progress in this regard throughout the district, for example, the Kickham Barracks Plaza, the Regional Sports Hub and the launch of the town bus service. We must build on this progress”.

The new Mayor says his key priorities include the delivery of the Suir Island Gardens project, which is scheduled to commence this month, and represents an investment of €1.8 million in the “green heart of Clonmel”; the delivery of a new Clonmel Garda station on the Kickham Barracks site, the construction of which is scheduled to commence early next year; and progess on the Clonmel Arms site.

“I met the owners (of the Clonmel Arms site) already this week and I can confirm that they are at the final design stage and in advanced discussions with an end user”.

Cllr Murphy says he also wants to see ongoing significant investment in Tipperary University Hospital, in the area of mental health, and in our schools.

Other priorities include the Clonmel Public Realm project, which is “shovel-ready,” and will be a major enhancement of the town centre public realm space. He says it is crucial that funding is secured; an application is currently with the minister and he has also written to the Taoiseach.

He said that wider URDF funding is required for the Dowd’s Lane Bulmers visitor centre, the Suir Island Bridge and the reimagination of the West Gate. He said the town is waiting too long for progress on the advanced building solution on the IDA-owned lands in Ballingarrane, which had been announced three and a half years ago.

Other priorities include the maintenance of law and order around the prime retail area.

He added that in the two major challenges of housing delivery and migration, Tipperary County Council has to be at the centre of Government strategy, as it relates to the county.

“We must all work together, with a sense of shared vision, energy and enthusiasm, not just in terms of addressing the needs of our local communities across the Borough District, but also in making a statement that Clonmel has the capacity, the resources, the capability and the ambition to be a real player and to attract investment into our county.

“I’m particularly looking forward to working with our Town Team under the leadership of Noel Buckley on projects such as the shop local voucher card (he acknowledged the role of Tipperary Chamber in this regard) and the launch of a potential BIDS (Business Improvement District) process, which is working so well in Sligo.

“We must all work together in a spirit of real partnership. There has to be a real urgency about getting things done now, not sometime in the distant future”.