Dismay at realm works

The work, which is giving the town centre area a facelift, has been ongoing for several weeks.

And town traders are less than happy with the situation, with many claiming business has been badly hit by the work and the end result will not benefit them in any way.

One local trader, Arthur Greene of Thomas Moore Interiors, said: “There’s no need for it. If anyone in the council could be man enough to stand up and say ‘we have made a mistake, let’s fix it’ though it’s a good man that can do that. Those pavements are alright at a Spanish resort but not here.”

One trader on North Street, who didn’t want to be named, said the road works were “a real disruption” with business strongly hit: “Business has been terrible and the road works have been making the whole thing worse.”

However, there is a level of optimism among other traders that the work, which will see “street furniture” installed throughout the town and more trees planted, will have a long-term benefit for the town.

“I think it might be a positive thing. When the town planners have finished we’ll see,” said Sean Hamill of McKeagney’s Chemist.

Palomo owner Gerard Skelton said: “Maybe when the pavements are finished it’s going to make someone take a chance and maybe a High Street name will come in. It’s the first step.”

Although there is some room for optimism with a few traders, some feel that they should be compensated for the loss of business during the public realm works in the form of a tax rebate with one North Street trader saying there should be a rate reduction.

Arthur Greene agreed, saying: “We should get some money back on our rates as compensation. More or less the businesses that have closed, have closed because of the rates. The council should give something back, maybe a third, maybe a fifth. But I’m not holding my breath.”