A towering view of Waterford’s South Quay from the deck of the Finnforest, currently in situ on the North Quay, where many of the world’s finest sailing vessels will be moored come next summer’s Tall Ships Race. | PHOTO: SHANE O’NEILL/ASPECT PHOTOGRAPHY
With no sign of a white knight arriving in Waterford to revamp the city’s North Quays ahead of next summer’s Tall Ships Race, Mayor Mary Roche believes there’s still time to improve the derelict site.
With plans for the North Quay long since discarded, hopes that the site would have an altogether more presentable appearance since the Tall Ships’ last visit in 2005 have long since bit the dust.
And while the Port of Waterford has pledged €300,000 towards next year’s hosting of the event, Mayor Roche believes there’s still time to create practical, public-friendly amenities which won’t cost the earth.
“I think it’s probably fair to say that we have faint hope that the North Quays will be developed any time soon under the current economic circumstances,” she said.
“They will, of course be tidied up and made safe for the visit of the International Tall Ships Fleet next June, but what of the immediate or even medium term?”
Mayor Roche has called for the once thriving dockside to be put to “a useful purpose” so as to “bring them into use for the people of Waterford and South Kilkenny”.
Her “simple enough” suggestions could, in her view “be easily achieved if people had half a mind” to consider the bigger picture.
Calling for “a simple park layout or a series of sports courts and pitches or even dreaded (car) parking,” Mayor Roche believes that putting the area into civic use should be seriously considered.
“Personally I favour the sports courts, followed by the park,” she added.
“One way or another, this would tidy the area up until some other use is found for them. It will be an awful shame if they are allowed to fall into further disrepair.
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Waterford NEEDS proper jobs. BUILD a factory outlet there and reduce the rates to make bussinesses go there and AFFORDABLE prices, to compete and give people reasons to spend. INVITE ASDA to build a megashop, but then I am sure you will have objections from THE WATERFORD shops due to NO MONEY.
WE need something happy and NON-Irish to make Waterford boom. the irish companies are not able to afford to spend any more from the likes of Waterford crystal to Hasbro. ALL owned by usa or China. EVEN the waterford Hotels are not even Irish. DUBLIN is massive due to extensive trade on By-Pass, but as long as the Waterford city council blokes the developments of such booming opportunities. Waterford will slide and slide to be like roscommon etc,,, SOON the Airport will go away. THEN they will say OOOOPS why did that HAPPEN !!!!!!
I completely agree with you Aidan, someone finally speaks the truth, nice to see someone cares.
Well done to the above contributors. The North Wharf is now a shambles. What happened to the urban regeneration project that cost so much money a number of years ago – to decide what to do with the site. Halls mill is a disgrace – admittedly it has been a feature of the northern skyline since the 60’s but it is now time for it to go. The entire northern landscape is atrocious looking – Jurys / Ard Ri / McEniffs needs urgently to be demolished or renovated. On second thoughts knock it and rebuild Flemings Castle. As for the north quays – Asda or a factory outlet or outlet village a la Kildare would be just the ticket, but our existing commercial leaders and interests would do everything in their power to prevent this. All you need to do is look at the TK Maxx issue. That store opened and was trading successfully until, oops, someone in the relevant local authority copped on to the fact that they were in breach of planning – we notified more like. Nobody died because they operated the way they were – indeed they seem to have been the only operation trading well in that particular retail park.
Convert the north quays quickly and ignore obvious vested interests in the planning process – the system is still rotten to the core and is subject to too many outside influences..
Absoloutely well said Patrick Quinn, that was an excellent paragraph. The system is rotten to the core, and our planners in Waterford stink to high heaven. We complained about one particullar person in Waterford (without mentioning names – but a certain person in a yellow mack that cycled his bicycle everywhere- you know who it is!!!) well since he has stopped it would seem certain people have been carrying on his work, namely the planners and councilors. I mean look at the state of that BS monument that is supposed to be an art sculpture that is being proposed for down by Cherries Brewery, it is terrible. Jurys is terrible, although I cant help but not blame the owners for letting that happen to that building as they had proposed a beautiful development for the former Jurys / Ard ri site but guess what it was refused , in true Waterford City Council fashion. The North Wharf, well thats just a fiasco, nobody knows what is going on with that. Our once clean and vibrant city is now falling into a state of degradation and nobody in that City Council gives a damn! TK Maxx was a bow by the City Council to the pressure exerted by one wealthy and supposedly powerful businessman. I think people should fight back. All the countries money is being flung at a bank that is dead, and has been dead for a while now, it’s like a compulsive gambler throwing money into a defective one arm bandit machine that he knows is never going to pay out. Meanwhile Waterford becomes forgotten by the Minister and his Dictatorship Govt. We will be like Russia 40 years ago if things keep going the way they are.