r/Wicklow • u/Logical-Dress-5291 • Sep 14 '26

Arklow Town

I have recently moved to Arklow, the town has a lot of activity in terms of people utilising local shops ect but curious to know if there are any plans to uodlgrade certain aspects of the town?

There's a good few shops on the main street that seem.a bit tired and rundown or building thst are not in use.

Have wicklow county council any plans to upgrade these premises or invest in the town in that regard?

8 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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7

u/DonkeysTickle Sep 14 '26

Full revamp of the duckpond area is on the way. There is planning permission for apartments/shops where the old cinema is on the main street but I wouldn't hold my breath. The main street has been left to rot for years.

7

u/Logical-Dress-5291 Sep 14 '26

Yeah, its a shame! Towns like Gorey, Trim, Wicklow town seem to be thriving, Arklow has so much potential but is looking a bit tired and neglected

3

u/Max-Battenberg Sep 14 '26

Great to hear about the duck pond area. 

Yeah that 'Alps' developemnt of the old cinema would be great but it's been on the cards for a couple of decades now. 

Hoping with Gough's tables on the river bank and the sauna nearby we might get a bit more development of the river bank area. 

Not sure if the windfarm redevelopment of the south Quay is going ahead but it would really help it.

3

u/jenbenm Sep 14 '26

Bridgewater killed the main street and ironically it's not doing great either. Rents must be astronomical in the place.

4

u/Ros96 28d ago

The fact that there’s an entire foodcourt area that’s no longer utilised says it all for the rents.

3

u/lumpymonkey Sep 15 '26

The only time I'm ever in the place is an occasional trip to TK Maxx. It's a shame because it's actually a nice shopping centre. 

2

u/DonkeysTickle 29d ago

Agree. The shopping centre is in an awful state. The town desperately needs a big store on the main street in my opinion.

Gorey, for example, have a big Sports Direct in the middle of their town, that is what Arklow needs too.

2

u/Global-Dickbag-2 28d ago

Numerous things killed the main street in Arklow - Bolands moving to the bigger store left a huge hole. The pay parking being introduced when the shopping centre was free years ago was insanity.

People parked in the centre and they never came back.

I would doubt any big store would come to the main street for lack of parking. Gorey has decent on street parking off the main street and the theatre, methodist church and market square

2

u/DonkeysTickle 27d ago

My grandparents always say that Dunnes Stores moving from the main street was the killer. I disagree about the lack of parking for the main street.

Theres literally a car park behind the bandstand on the main street and another car park at laffins Lane. I think, eventually, it will get a big store and a revival

2

u/Global-Dickbag-2 27d ago

Dunnes didn't help things, but it was only a drapery Dunnes then. Why invest in a street where there is no handy way for an arctic truck to unload. The cinema also was a loss.

It would be great to see it thrive the way Gorey does, but unless rates are dropped, what big business would consider the main street?

Penneys, if not in a centre that has parking, tend to build a car park like in Carlow. Maybe Jysk or someone might consider it, but they all tend to use programs to pick sites, based on traffic, population, etc.

It would be a risky investment. Even look internally- Grizzly x Napkin look where they moved. They didn't pick the main street because the units are in bits and the footfall is not there.

6

u/OldHugger Sep 14 '26

The area development plan is available on the council web site. It will show areas zoned for development and priorities etc.

4

u/JumpingJackFlashes Sep 14 '26

The town was prevented from expanding by the lack of a waste water plant. 

Now that this is operating, building has commenced on the north of the town and there is more development planned at moneylands. This should also help with footfall on the mainstream and revitalise the area.

2

u/mangoparrot Sep 14 '26

Theres a lot of really great arty type stuff going on with Cllr Peir Leonard

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EfrcKbkxf/

2

u/Final_Dust9903 28d ago

Hi, I'll be moving to Arklow soon, hopefully. How are you enjoying the area?

-4

u/Lazy-Argument-8153 Sep 14 '26

Once a kip, always a kip

-1

u/dbgc1981 28d ago

never a truer word spoken