Centre of a Mayo town undergoes a health check

Ballina is an independent town and the sole driver of its economic success, with a strong enterprise-base in its town centre, according to the findings of a 'health check' on the north Mayo capital.

The report – the Ballina Collaborative Town Centre Health Check 2020, to give it its full title – was discussed at the online May monthly meeting of Ballina Municipal District.

Coming out of Covid-19, Ballina is in a fortunate position by being town centre-based, said Deirdre Cunningham, heritage officer with Mayo County Council, who shared the report with councillors and officials.

She explained that in 2016, Ballina was one of seven towns chosen to take part in the Heritage Council's Collaborative Town Centre Health Check programme. It was the first time such a programme had been carried out in Ireland and the results provide an evidence base for the actions to be taken in towns.

The report summarises the key findings of the data collected through a 15-step process developed as part of the programme created by the Heritage Council and its key partners.

The findings from the report on Ballina will be used to inform plans and strategies in relation to arts and culture, climate change adaptation, commerce/ecommerce and enterprise, cultural tourism (e.g. music, food, etc), town centre living, public realm (e.g. historic streetscapes, parks and public spaces), renewable energy and energy harvesting, and strategic planning and placemaking, helping to make it part of a network of 'sustainable and future-proof towns' in Ireland.

Some key consumer opinions were that 54% of people surveyed said 'nothing' when asked what they disliked about Ballina town centre, and what they liked most about the town centre was 'the people' (28%). There is usually little retail 'leakage' out of Ballina to the competing towns of Sligo, Castlebar, Galway and Dublin, which are generally visited less than once a month.

Of those surveyed, 82% reported a feeling of safety and security during the day and 77% reported the same feelings at night. The café and restaurant choice and quality both ranked highly among key aspects of Ballina town centre as well. Parking and traffic flow were only ranked high by 50% and 49% of respondents respectively, however.

For business owners, the main strengths of Ballina are accessibility (21%), the people (18%) and the shops (18%). Two main improvements suggested by business owners are addressing vacant buildings (29%) and improving traffic flow (19%).

Pre-Covid, half of business owners had positive trading experiences. Almost half (49%) expected improvement, while 27% expected no change and 24% expected decline.

Among business owners, Sligo and Castlebar are seen as the primary competition to Ballina.

Prior to the onset of Covid-19, a large proportion of businesses had an online presence, though 28% had no website.

The survey found that Ballina’s population is younger than the national average, with a growing 25-35 age cohort, yet consumers cite a lack of shops in the town centre dedicated to this age group, particularly in terms of clothing.

Meanwhile, 20% of units in Ballina town centre are empty, which 'tends to diminish the public realm quality and vitality' of the area. However, a Vacancy and Dereliction Task Force has been set up to address the issue.

With Ballina having been identified as a Key Town in the Regional and Economic Strategy (RSES) adopted in January 2020 by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA), the consolidation of the vibrant town centre will be crucial to achieving the goal, the report stresses.

Mags Downey-Martin of Ballina Chamber, who collaborated on the report with the Heritage Council as well as GMIT, Ballina Municipal District and Ballina Tidy Towns, said accessibility is a main strength of the town, and she highlighted the Purple Flag as evidence of the safe and vibrant night economy that exists there.

The director of services for the region, Tom Gilligan, said the report dovetails nicely with the town centre first policy in the programme for government, which aims to make town centres more vibrant places for people to work and live.

The head of Ballina MD, Declan Turnbull, added that although a snapshot in time, the report would be very useful for the town in future.

“There are a lot of things happening in Ballina and it's all leading towards a very good place to be in. There are some issues to be addressed but it's a good news story.”

Council members welcomed the findings of the report, with a number remarking that it was nice to have it officially recognised that Ballina's strongest asset is its people.