Hopes engagement can bring vacant Dunnes Stores site in Tipperary back into use
There are hopes that engagement with the local authority will help to bring an out-of-use former supermarket outlet in Tipperary back into active use.
The Dunnes Stores outlet on O’Connell Street in Clonmel has been empty since 2017, with the retail company focusing on their other outlets in the town on the Davis Road and in the Oakville Shopping Centre.
At the January meeting of the Clonmel Borough District, Fine Gael councillor Tom Acheson asked the council for an update on the building and if any moves had been made to try and bring it back into use.
“I saw an article about large companies, particularly Dunnes Stores, hoarding sites around the country that they no longer use,” Cllr Acheson said.
“Probably for them, it’s like putting your money into gold, just hold it there if you don’t need money, in Clonmel, they’ve left the site on O’Connell Street, they’ve had promises, and promises and promises that something would be done with it, there was work with the title, we’re still waiting for that to be sorted, and maybe someone has better news than I have.
"That article just brought it home to me that it’s not very fair of Dunnes Stores, who have two fabulous stores in the town as it is, they’re making a lot of money in this town, that they’d leave that site idle, it’s disappointing that there’s no progress with it,” Cllr Acheson said.
In response, a member of the council’s administrative team said that with empty buildings, engagement with the council had worked elsewhere in getting them back into use, and there was hope that this approach would also work in Tipperary.
"Additional resource staff have been put into the derelict sites team and the town regeneration team, but when we’re talking about derelict sites, engagement is key.
“Like other local authorities, we’re taking a carrot and stick approach, the carrot being the incentives that are there, and they have been significantly increased over the past number of years. There are significant incentives there for property owners if they engage with the local authority,” the meeting was told.
"On the other hand, we have the stick, and we won’t be found wanting in terms of using that under the derelict sites act. Local authorities in other areas have had successes with engagement. These large companies are not interested in sitting on properties,” councillors heard.
Previously, Dunnes Stores came under fire from Cllr Acheson, who said they should “hang their head in shame” at the state they’ve let the building on Clonmel’s main street fall into.
"They have two very profitable stores in town, and I think they should hang their head in shame the way they’ve left that property for so long,” Cllr Acheson said at a meeting last year.
"It’s one of the prime places in town, it’s not that they’ve retired from business, it’s not that they’ve gone out of business, and I think we as a council should ask them to engage with us,” he added.
Dunnes Stores were contacted for comment but none had been received at the time of publication.