The Ballina based owner of the Quirky Glamping site in Enniscrone, Co Sligo, has said he will not put his family’s financial future at risk in order to get the project off the ground.
David McGowan says the personal guarantees needed by the bank for his multi-million euro project in the seaside town are unattainable. McGowan, an undertaker by trade, made a presentation to Sligo County Council earlier this week outlining his determination to move forward with his world famous plans for the glamping village and garage forecourt.
He told councillors that contrary to popular belief he is not broke but will not put his family at risk by meeting strict personal guarantees that the bank is demanding to grant a loan for the project which is expected to cost in the region of €2.5 million to develop. The recent ‘Live on Air’ music festival held in the west Sligo town as a fundraiser for the project ended up making a loss, but McGowan says that will not put him off. He hopes to develop the quirky glamping village into a major tourist attraction and says he is also exploring private investment
Speaking to local radio station Ocean FM following his meeting with the county council McGowan said he was determined to move on and make the project a success before hitting out at the bank's reluctance to invest in the west; “I think not alone are we deprived in the west of Ireland of people interested in investing, what I’m learning at the moment is for our lending institutes if it’s in the west of Ireland it seems to be a no go area, that it’s bound to fail.”
