Vital town centre redevelopment in Dungannon must strike a balance between housing and commercial properties, businesses in the town have warned.
Approval has been granted for work on several buildings on Scotch Street in the centre of the County Tyrone town. The units have been empty for a number of years and are increasingly falling into disrepair.
The scheme will see four buildings, including the former Fort Bar, knocked down and replaced with 16 apartments and three retail units.
Brian MacAuley, from Dungannon Connect, said the area needed more homes amidst a “housing problem” but that it should not come “at the cost of the reduction of our commercial space”.
“Housing or living above a shop enriches a town, there’s no question about that, but the loss of any commercial property is very short-sighted – long-term that can have an impact on the future of the town,” he added.
Mr MacAuley said he was very positive about the town’s future and that there were huge opportunities for development, with lots of independent retail outlets doing well.
“That’s the way we should be growing the town, not necessarily removing commercial property and turning it into residential,” he said.
As well as the Fort and Salt nightclub, the buildings in Scotch Street most recently housed two clothes shops and an Ulster Unionist Party constituency office.
Rachel Jardine has been running her business for more than eight years [BBC]
Rachel Jardine, who runs a bar and restaurant in Perry Street, said she was supportive of redevelopment, highlighting regeneration of houses opposite her businesses that had made the street more welcoming for customers.
But she said she could understand concerns about Scotch Street.
“I can understand why the traders, like us, get frustrated with lack of shopfronts for other shops to go into, especially within the prime part of the town centre where people are walking past to see other shops and it’s not ideal having front doors rather than windows,” she said.
She said she was optimistic about Dungannon, but that businesses faced challenges with staffing and costs, including rates.
“We would love to see more businesses coming into the town because getting more business within the town brings more people to the town,” she said.
Ms Jardine added that for her industry, hospitality, she had “seen more places closed within the town than open”.
“The more there is, the more people will come in to see what’s within a town – come for something to eat, go to a coffee shop, and we are very much missing that at the moment.
“We’re optimistic with the town itself. We have put a lot into the business that is here.
“We’ll continue to do so and we would like to see the town come back to life.”
The buildings on Scotch Street have been empty for a number of years [BBC]
There are many other vacant buildings in the town centre, sitting alongside established businesses as well as newer ventures.
Stephen Mohan’s clothes shop used to operate a few doors up in one of the buildings set to be demolished.
He said he felt the area should be kept as retail rather than residential. He is also concerned about the size of the three proposed commercial units, which he fears are too small to be viable.
“Sixteen apartments and three small retail units, we don’t think it’s going to marry too well into the town centre,” Mr Mohan said.
“Dungannon, like any other town, is ripe for redevelopment, but the correct redevelopment, a development that marries into the town centre.
“I feel Dungannon has a lot to show off, sometimes we are very quiet, we keep our things very low.
“I’m proud to be educated in this town and proud to have friends in this town and now run the business.”
Stephen Mohan runs a business on Scotch Street [BBC]
In their report, planners at Mid Ulster District Council said the retail units “should revitalise this once vibrant site by bringing it back into use, and enhancing its appearance, thus positively impacting the wider street and town centre”.
They said the retail units and apartments should encourage footfall by “providing a choice of shops for shoppers and homes for occupants within easy walking distance of shops and services”.
At the council meeting at which the application was approved, a planning officer said that originally “there was much less of a retail proposal put forward” but planners had worked with the applicant to change that.
One councillor – Clement Cuthbertson from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – opposed the application saying he did not think it would benefit the retail area of the town.
No date has been set for work to start.
