Irish Water has moved to reassure traders on Parnell Street in Ennis that disruption will be kept to a minimum, as they begin eight weeks of work there.
There will be a phased closure of the street as the utility replaces old cast iron pipes with new plastic piping, with business owners concerned about the impact on their vital Christmas trade.
Tomorrow marks Day One of some eight weeks of work to be carried out by Irish Water on Parnell Street.
The project will see 650 metres of cast iron piping under the street surface taken out and replaced with new plastic pipes, which Irish Water says will reduce the number of leaks and outages.
However, this means eight weeks of disruption for business owners on Parnell Street, leading into their busy Christmas period.
Irish Water says it will keep disturbance to an absolute minimum and Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead Gerry O’Donnell says it’s a necessary programme of works.
That investment Gerry refers to is a major €3.3 million upgrade of Parnell Street, which is due to get underway shortly.
The plans include an entire re-surfacing of the street in natural stone materials; the installation of street furniture and the upgrading of the public realm of the historic laneways off of the street.
That’s not due to begin until January, meaning traders will have a brief respite from works from the end of November until the New Year, should all go to plan.
But Secretary of the Parnell Street Traders Association Noreen Twomey-Walsh, who runs a household linens shop with her husband, says it’s a concern to have two major redevelopments in quick succession.
