Westport needs to be thinking about immediate and practical ways to keep shops and restaurants open according to Fergus McAllister, Green Party candidate for the Westport Town Council.
Speaking ahead of the Chamber of Commerce AGM last Friday night McAllister said that the town council should consider a rates holiday for new businesses opening in premises which have been vacant for a long period of time or for businesses which are struggling to stay open. This temporary stay, he said, would benefit everyone.
He also said that high rents should be reconsidered, given the current economic climate. He urged the Chamber of Commerce, the Town Council, landlords and business tenants to work together to develop a reasonable rental and rates system so that the town remains vibrant for residents and tourists.
“This is a tourist town but tourists don’t want to come on holidays to a place where premises are empty,” he said. “Westport must remain vibrant to sustain the brilliant job it has done in marketing itself as a tourism destination. We need to look seriously at immediate and practical steps like a temporary stay on rates or a cap on rents.”
In the longer term, McAllister said that Westport should aim to become a digital hub for clean green-tech businesses. This type of development would fit well with the town’s clean tourism business. He urged the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Council to initiate a digital enterprise task force to explore this.
Clean tech businesses could range from individual or “pod” (group ) tele-working services to the development of low-energy communications networks to animation or web-design.
“Westport is well serviced with broadband already and is positioned to take advantage of higher speeds as they come on stream,” he said. “We should be taking advantage of this now instead of waiting for traditional infrastructural development like roads and rail.
“Westport is an extremely attractive place to live and work. Combined with its broadband capacity, I believe we have an opportunity to become a vibrant digital hub which can create sustainable jobs in the west,” he said.
