‘We can’t turn the town into one big coffee shop’

“We can’t turn Mullingar into one big coffee shop,” argued Cllr Andrew Duncan, who has demanded that no more parking spaces be given over to outdoor dining without consultation with local representatives.

He was speaking at the monthly meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad, where opinion on the matter was divided.

Cllr Duncan felt that it was “ludicrous” to remove parking spaces to make way for outdoor dining in Ireland, except during the summer. “It’s Ireland, not Tuscany,” he said. He wanted to see every business helped, but “you can’t turn Mullingar into one big coffee shop”.

Cllr Duncan said it was difficult to get parking in Dominick Street, where he has his business. He complained that councillors had not been consulted about the removal of parking spaces and demanded that it should not happen again.

“There are more businesses out there than coffee shops,” he declared.

Cllr Hazel Smyth had called on the council to consider some car parking spaces to be used for outdoor dining. She also asked if the council would help business owners to put up bollards, provide heating and erect canopies. She was supported by Cllr Denis Leonard, who said that some parking spaces were previously occupied by commuters who are now working from home.

The meeting was told that the council supported outdoor dining and businesses could apply for licences to place street furniture on car park spaces in the form of a ‘parklet’. The council has already received a number of enquiries and will consider the suitability of locations and overall proposals before making a decision on licences.

Cllr Mick Dollard was concerned about the impact the removal of parking spaces and the waiving of commercial rates would have on the council’s revenue and asked how the deficit would be made up. He claimed that a lot of retailers in Dominick Street did not want any more parking spaces lost to outdoor dining. They want their customers to be able to park, he said.

Cllr Bill Collentine said that it was great to see outdoor dining and businesses thinking outside the box, but he warned that it “has to be dealt with in a fair way”.

“Each business should know what is happening on its streets,” he said. He asked if the parking spaces were being taken over for outdoor dining all day and night or during specific hours, saying that some businesses would not open until midday and at that they would only be serving coffee.

Communication is the key factor, according to Cllr Ken Glynn. He accepted that not everyone was going to be happy, but he felt that the streets were for all businesses and they all should be allowed to thrive “after the horrible time they have had”. He asked that all parties come together “to thrash it out”.

Cllr Emily Wallace wanted to know if only canvas dividers could be put up by businesses offering outdoor dining. She said that a lot of businesses had invested in planters and solid structures, but were now being told only canvas was being considered. She urged that account be taken of the fact that the bye-Laws for the town were developed in a different time.

The mayor, Cllr Aoife Davitt, said she “absolutely” supported outdoor seating and dining, but she called for equity. The meeting heard that the council had nine applications for outdoor dining licences; they were at different stages and two are completed. In view of the debate, it was suggested that licences could be granted for three months and that by September the pressure would be off and the council would know how successful the scheme had been. Then businesses could get their applications in for next year.

As regards dividers, Pat Keating, senior executive officer, remarked that canvas looks smart and adds to the overall appearance, but the council would not be restricting businesses at this stage.

Deirdre Reilly, director of services, confirmed that parklets would only be approved on a three-month basis and then reviewed. She stressed that “we need an outdoor summer” and they want to support these businesses as an executive.

She went on to say that the council had met Mullingar Chamber and with businesses and stressed that nothing had been “decided behind closed doors”.

For the record, Cllr Glynn stated he was “at no meeting” and “I know of no councillor that was”. “Fair is fair,” he stated.