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Buncrana Town
Council is planning bye-laws that will designate
Cockhill Road and Nailor's Row car park as the
town's casual trading areas.
If adopted, the legislation will allow licensed chip
vans and other food outlets to trade into the early
hours at Cockhill Road while allowing day-time
casual trading at the Nailor's Row site.
However, the proposal to designate the Nailor's Row
public car park for casual trading is subject to the
approval of the planners, councillors were told at
the recent monthly meeting.
They were also given a recommendation that they
increase the existing fees for casual trading which
currently range from €32 a day to €253 a year. The
fees were set eleven years ago and fall well below
those charged in Letterkenny where they generally
range from €200 annually for craftspeople to €1,000
for general merchandise and €3,000 for mobile
catering.
A report by the town engineer indicates that the St.
Mary's Road car park - once the preferred location
for a casualt trading site - is not now suitable
since the construction there of a broadband
facility.
There are currently two licences in operation in
Buncrana - one held by a menswear trader at the
Market Square and the other held by a mobile fish
and chip van who trades on weekend nights at
Cockhill Road.
Town Mayor, Cllr. Joe Doherty, FF, said he had some
reservations about anti-social behaviour with casual
trading in the early hours of the morning.
Cllr. Daren Lalor, SF, said a €1,000 a year fee was
the equivalent of just €2.74 a day which he said was
grossly unfair to Buncrana traders who were burdened
with ever-increasing rates. "We have to take into
consideration the people on the Main Street who have
to pay their rates. And we must also bear in mind
that on-street traders have no overheads either."
Cllr. Paul Bradley, FG, said he was not against
casual trading but he said the Council would have to
be firm on the issue to be fair to fixed traders.
"We would have to decide when they trade, for how
long and where. That's our brief," he said.
Executive engineer, Donal Walker said he would have
an engineer's report on the matter for the
councillors' June meeting.
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