Navan rates and parking set to rise

The chairman of the Navan Retailers' Association has reacted furiously to a 20 per cent increase in parking charges at Kennedy Place adopted by Navan Town Council in its budget last week. Brendan O'Dea has described the move and the new minimum charge of €1.20 at the car park as "absolutely ridiculous" and "nonsensical" saying that any councillor who supported it should be "thoroughly ashamed of themselves" and consider whether they should continue on the council at all. Businesses in Navan will also be hit with a 3.3 per cent increase in the town's commercial rate as a result of the expansion of the town's boundary earlier this year. Mr O'Dea has also blasted the €25,000 set aside for a retail strategy in the town. "Shopkeepers in Navan know what they are doing and don't need advice from anyone else, particularly if they have to pay for it. The simple answer to help business is to cut the cost of parking and increase the number of spaces," he said. Concerning the new minimum charge of €1.20, Mr O'Dea said this would stop people coming into Kennedy Place for quick errands or a quick coffee. Everywhere else in Navan, motorists could just pay 20c for 20 minutes. He predicted the move was going to destroy business and make it even more difficult for traders in Kennedy Place. The Navan Retailers' Association chairman said the changes would force people into parking in the shopping centre car park which, he said, is now cheaper than the Kennedy Place car park. Cllr Peader Tóibín, who delivered the budget proposal on behalf of Sinn Féin, Labour and independents, said that retail areas which received the most investment from the council should contribute most and that 93 per cent of parking spaces in the town would not see an increase. He said: "This council has inherited from the Fianna Fáil-controlled council of the last eight years potentially a €6m loan for Kennedy Place. This is a shocking figure and one which will be a burden on the town for the next 20 years. The town manager proposed that a 10 cent increase be placed on all parking spaces throughout the town. However, we believe that this would be unfair and we opposed it. Logic suggests that retail areas which have received the most investment from the council should contribute most." Cllr Tóibín said the budget would see an investment of over €250,000 euros in the business and retail sector in Navan with €100,000 to be spent on the Smarter Towns provision, €50,000 for a new car park opposite the fire station, €25,000 for a retail support strategy to deliver a sales, marketing and internet support programme for local businesses, €25,000 for environmental promotion of a clean town, €15,000 for a walking tour and €50,000 for community initiatives. He also said he had written to the Minister for the Environment calling on him to postpone the imposition of a 3.3 per cent increase in the town's rate to give local businesses a breather of at least a year, but that he had not received any response. Cllr Shane Cassells, who opposed the parking increase at Kennedy Place, branded the councillors who voted for it as "five scrooges". He said that what is likely to prove more contentious with people is that, for the first time ever, shoppers will have to pay the full charge of €1.20 if they go one minute over the hour instead of the previous case, where 10 cent would suffice. "Despite the fact that town manager Eugene Cummins produced an additional €185,952 in funding from his preliminary budget, the new power coalition pushed ahead with the increased parking charge," said Cllr Cassells, adding that it was punitive and would hurt people and businesses at a time when they needed the most help. "To make matters worse, you now will now trap shoppers who run one minute over the hour and they will now have to pay €2.40 for 61 minutes. To think that some councillors got elected by promising people free parking on your election literature and now you have gone and put the price up," said Cllr Cassells, referring to Cllr Francis Deane who, along with Cllrs Anton McCabe, Phil Brennan, Peadar Tobin and Mayor Joe Reilly, voted in favour of the new charge and adopted the budget. "Sinn Fein, Labour and the independents claim they want to help businesspeople in Navan. All I can see is that they have made it harder for people to trade and this move will actually drive people out of the town," he predicted. Cllr Anton McCabe welcomed the €250,000 to help business business growth and job creation in the town and added that the Smart town project will provide for a more sustainable Navan and will require round table commitment in the council chamber to further develop the initiative. He added that the 3.3 per cent increase in rates was "unavoidable" due to the ministerial directive linked to the extension of the town boundary and commented that Kennedy Plaza has to self-fund as "it is a liability and will continue to be for the lifetime of this council". Cllr Jim Holloway said that a 20 per cent increase in the car parking charges cannot be justified, particularly at a very difficult time for the economy when what is needed is a lowering in the cost of doing business. He said the increase in the commercial rate was inevitable following the expansion of the town boundary but that Navan Town Council must be the only local authority in the country which has increased both the commercial rate and car parking charges. Cllr Holloway said an aspect of the budget that was given very little attention was the reduction in the the local government grant. He said that a three to fourfold increase in the grant was justified on the basis of the massive increase in the function area of Navan Town Council.