Figures portraying Sligo as having worst rate of vacant commercial premises described as ‘outrageous’

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The issue of vacant commercial premises in Sligo was raised by Cllr Donal Gilroy at the December meeting of Sligo County Council with the Grange based representative hitting out at figures issued by Geodirectory as “outrageous” as he insisted “Sligo is thriving.”

The GeoDirectory figures place Sligo as the county with the highest commercial vacancy rate but Cllr Gilroy took issue with the published figures saying, “Of the 763 properties that are vacant, 94 of them are in Leitrim. Seven of the are in Cavan.”

Cllr Gilroy added, “Some of the examples are outrageous. Two of Finbarr Filan’s properties are marked as vacant. The Quayside shopping centre is recorded as having 35 vacant properties.”

He also noted that the Old Mill apartments are included in the property report despite the fact that they fall under the residential category.

Cllr Gilroy told the meeting, “The system is flawed,” adding, “I’d like to compliment the Council on taking the initiative together with Sligo BID in correcting these figures. I look forward to the detailed report that will give us the bullet point figures on what’s what.

Cllr Gilroy’s motion before the monthly meeting called for “A report to be given to members to reflect the actual vacancy rate figures for Sligo and how these have been conveyed to GeoDirectory to avoid inaccurate reporting of recent years.”

The most recently published figures relating to the number of vacant commercial properties revealed Sligo has a vacancy rate of 20.8%, the highest commercial vacancy rates in the country.

However, these figures were once again disputed in the Council Chamber with Cllr Gilroy saying the report is full of inaccuracies in relation to Sligo noting, “Two of Finbarr Filan’s properties are marked as vacant and the Quayside Shopping Centre is recorded as having 35 vacant properties.”

Cllr Gilroy added, “When you see these statistics it is outrageous. Sligo is being painted in a bad light and this council is being painted in a bad light. Who would want to come into a town with 763 vacant properties?”

Cllr Gilroy suggested any potential new business owner would think, “Tumbleweed must be blowing down the streets but that’s not the way it is. Sligo is thriving and there is great work being done.”

Cllr Gilroy noted the reporting of inaccurate figures can not be blamed on media outlets as “The media are reporting on false information.”

The motion was supported by Cllr Thomas Walsh who said, “It is important that there is clarity. It is very obvious that GeoDirectory is skewed. We are dealing with negative headlines on foot of inaccurate figures.”

Cllr Marie Casserly also offered her support saying, “This inaccurate data is damaging and insulting. The last time they were given the correct data but compiled an inaccurate report. There is so much positivity in Sligo town, businesses need all the support they can get and this is damaging.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.