‘Drogheda should be like Machu Picchu towns’ – Young businessman demands action on vacancy

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

A Louth business-owner and content creator is on a mission to ‘Make Drogheda Great Again,”

Adam Murray, owner of Biddo’s Street Food, is best known for his hugely popular taco truck and catering business. But his social media campaigns, featuring to-the-point views on how to tackle the dereliction in the town centre, have earned him tens of thousands Tik Tok and Instagram followers.

The picture is a challenging one for Drogheda, he admits, with the town currently tracking as highest for commercial vacancies in Louth.

“I was travelling in Columbia and Peru recently, in a town four hours away from Machu Picchu, it was cleaner, safer and more built up in the centre than Drogheda… and that’s a third world country. But it was packed with tourists going to Machu Picchu. My question is - why isn’t Drogheda flooded with people who are visiting Newgrange which is older than the Pyramids?”

The “lack of cohesion” in tourist destinations across the region hasn’t helped towns like Drogheda thrive, says Adam, but there are other things to consider.

“People are moving away from the town centre, there is a lot more incentive for shoppers to go out to retail parks, where they can get free parking, and it’s on the outskirts of town so people feel they aren’t facing as much traffic,” says Adam.

He adds that with high rent rates in town centres continuing to discourage new investors “it isn’t lucrative at all for any business to consider.”

"I am a huge fan of the BIDs (Business Improvement District) scheme, but they really should be shouting from the rooftops what they are doing to improve Drogheda, and all of the brilliant things this town has to offer.”

The power of social media should be harnessed to build momentum about the town, he adds, with local business promotion leading the charge.

"I think the aims of the town centre management are misplaced, we really need to be continually highlighting all of the businesses with sharp, entertaining content that draws people in.”

Bringing back a Saturday market is one strategy to make Drogheda more appealing for visitors, says Adam.

"If you look at all the European towns and cities, the vast majority have thriving markets that are featured in visitor guides as “must see” destinations. We should try to get twenty stalls in and push it on social media with all the different backgrounds they have.”

Controversial as it may sound, he feels there is a case for Narrow West Street to be pedestrianised to create a shopping and social hub in the town centre.

"We need to do offer something different to what the retail parks are doing, create a buzz that visitors can’t get out of town.”

Empty shops and buildings, which continually push up commercial vacancy rates, should be met with “urgent action” by Louth County Council, he says, adding that the local authority should “put much more pressure on owners to do something with these places or face a Compulsory Purchase Order.”

Building owners who “sit on their hands and wait for the value of their property to go up are ruining the infrastructure of our town,” said Adam.

“Can they not see that renting out their premises will help to build up the appeal of the area, and in turn increase the value of their property, much more so than leaving it derelict for years and years.”

He admits that the challenges for setting up a new business “can be astronomical.”

"If say, you are a new business owner, and you want to set up a coffee shop, you are talking six figures, it’s crazy.”

Offering rent adjusted rates, in collaboration with the local enterprise office, would be of huge assistance, he adds, especially for the hospitality sector “where the margins are so thin.”

Adam says he has “concerns about the number of vape shops we have opening, and at the same time long standing businesses closing, we need a huge push on social media to promote those existing businesses.”

“Overall, we need to bring the pride back in our town, make it a great place to live and visit. I love this town, and I’ll do everything I can to make it great again.”