Keep Cavan Alive want to put a halt to Tesco's plans

Members of a new action group, Keep Cavan Alive, will be out on the streets throughout the Fleadh seeking signatures for a petition which they will attach to an objection to the proposed 80,000-plus square foot Tesco store in the Townparks and Tullacmongan Lower area. The group formed about six weeks ago and has a dozen active members as well as financial support from 40 to 50 local businesses. Members comprise community groups representatives and residents as well as business people, all with a shared objective of calling a halt to Tesco's current plans. The petition is open to anyone who has an attachment to Cavan town, according to spokesperson Paul Connolly. They're not objecting to Tesco expanding, but to the fact that the development, which would add approximately one third to the current total retail space in the town core, would be on the edge of the town, with the carpark on the far side of it and a 50-foot high lift and a walkway between it and the town centre. They envisage that if the supermarket goes ahead, it will "kill off a town that's been here for about 700 years". "It's like the Joni Mitchell song - you don't know what you've got till it's gone," says Paul. "We are concerned about what hypermarkets have done to other towns. They have devastated the social centre of towns in England, not just from a business point of view but the whole social fabric." An optician in the town, Paul emphasises that the loss would go beyond the commercial. "I like Cavan and I don't want to see it dying. I feel strongly about it. I want to keep something here that is of value, rather than let it wash away because of a big multi-national so that the town becomes a miserable place with no soul. It's hard to pin it down but that's what is taken from a town." They cite the experience in the UK, where the attitude to large out-of-town retail stores is changing and where TV retail guru Mary Portas has been asked by the government to come up with ways to foster "more prosperous and diverse" town centres at a time when one in seven shops in the UK lies empty. "The pattern of desolation where you have this out-of-town development is very clear... Towns become a wasteland," comments another member Cathal Leddy, who has a fashion business in Cavan. "We're often surprised at the amount of tourists who walk into our shop. They love Cavan. It's a beautiful town with its narrow streets people like to come in and spend a bit of time there. What tourists don't like are these big generic superstores." A third member, Emer McGoohan, works in Cavan town. "When you consider the history of the town, it's such an old town, to see everywhere closed up would be tragic," she says. They stress that they're not anti-Tesco; it's this specific plan that they object to. "We'd be delighted if Tesco expanded within the town and brought new jobs to the town, but the way they're doing it up on the top of the hill with their backs turned to the town, with a carpark that's going to keep everyone who comes there away from the town and no very good connection with the town - that's what we don't want," says Paul. "They're just creating their own little world for themselves. They're doing that for profit. I'm not saying they're intentionally wrecking the town, but that is the indirect effect that has been well shown already all over the UK and in parts of Ireland." The site on which the proposed store would be is a total of 9.497 acres of land sold to Tesco by Cavan County Council (5.337 acres) and Cavan Town Council (4.16 acres). The total agreed is €4.5 million, but the sale is subject to planning permission being granted. Tesco have also agreed to make a contribution of €1.5 million to the new link road, but this is also subject to the development going ahead. Back in May this year, Cavan County Council made a decision to approve the sale. Eleven Fine Gael members voted for the sale proposal with two (David Blake and Val Smith) aligning themselves with the 'No' camp made up of the four Sinn Féin members and three Fianna Fáil councillors (Shane P. O'Reilly, Niamh Smyth and Fergal Curtin). The remaining four Fianna Fáil members abstained. A fortnight earlier, through a show of hands, Cavan Town Council approved the sale of its portion of the lands at Townparks and Tullacmongan to Tesco with five members (Cllrs Des Cullen, Jacqui Lewis, Terry Argue, Paddy Sexton and Patricia Walsh) in favour of immediate approval outnumbering the three (Cllrs Paddy Conaty, Brian McKeown and Paddy O'Reilly) voting for deferral. Cllr Andrew Boylan was absent. Town manager, Ger Finn, had recommended that they approve the sale, which would "consolidate" and "add a new dimension to" the town. Councillors in favour spoke of the economic benefits to the town, including job creation during and after construction, income through the sale and ongoing rates, increased footfall in the town, the contribution of €1.5m from Tesco to the new link road, and the retention of a "big brand name" within the town boundaries. A number of groups will be lodging an objection to Tesco's current planning application before the August 22 deadline. Cavan Chamber is to lodge a separate objection, and the two groups are pooling resources to engage the services of planning consultant, Stephen Ward. Keep Cavan alive have started the petition to show the level of community support there is for their objection. They're hopeful of a successful outcome to their campaign. Paul believes the political tide of attitudes to such developments is turning and points out that it's not yet "a done deal". Says Cathal: "It could be a long, hard battle, but we're prepared for it". * See www.cavanbusiness.ie for information.