Give West Street a Helping Hand

Issued : Wednesday 1 April, 2015

Louth County Council need to provide a platform in order to jumpstart revival work on both West Street and Narrow West Street in Drogheda that will increase footfall and help businesses in the area. According to Louth County Councillor Pio Smith the town centre of Drogheda needs a new initiative that will attract customers to the shopping district and help buisnesses compete on an equal footing with out of town retail centres.

Cllr.Smith Said “ I will be proposing to the Chief Executive of Louth County Council that a workshop should be held in Drogheda aimed at inviting local businesses particuarly those in hard to reach areas to attend and  pool their resources, working together and reaching out to their local community.

Getting the business community involved in the workshop from the beginning will be a key task. Businesses can gain  a range of benefits when working together, such as the ability to collectively organise events and pool resources to promote an area together. By bringing representatives together from different areas and groups, they can be encouraged to share best practise techniques. Networking will allow these representatives to connect with each other, and ideally gaining contacts that they can call and meet with for future advice and support.

One passionate person working to improve their shop can have a huge impact. But lots of retailers working together with a shared plan could be transformative for West Street and Narrow West Street. The people of the town should also be allowed a platform to tell the council and traders what they like about their town centre,what they don’t like and what they want more of.This type of workshop could allow us to develop a distinct identity for the town centre that would could place the high street at the heart of the local community. To make a difference it has to be a team event and Louth County Council needs to recognise we have a problem in the centre of the town and it need to involve itself in finding a solution”