FINGLAS Village is set to regain its former status as a thriving centre of community life under new plans backed by local residents and politicians.
The village centre was sold to Wexford based development firm Percolt Ltd for an undisclosed fee last April, drawing a line under a decade-long saga. The area had been earmarked for a multi-million euro revamp back in 2003.
The sale included Finglas Main Centre, Poppintree Mall and Raven House, a large empty office block previously occupied by the HSE. Work on revamping a number of long-derelict empty shop units in the main centre and along Main Street is already underway and several potential tenants have expressed interest in renting them out.
The developers also plan to repair the Main Centre car park, install high-grade paving on footpaths and mount bright new canopies and flags around the area.
It’s understood an attractive anchor tenant has been secured for the largest unit in the main centre and politicians are being urged to support the project by lobbying for as many local services as possible to be relocated to the area.
The developers are keen to work with representatives from the Finglas community and are providing space for an enterprise centre and a local charity group at nominal rents.
The plan has been welcomed by Finglas Village Renewal (FVR), a group set up by locals to help revitalise the once thriving centre. Spokesperson Sean Mooney told Northside People that the developer’s plans have the group’s full support.
“It’s going to resurrect the village, that’s for sure,
? he said.
“We’ve had several meetings with the developer to discuss how we can help him and how he can help us.
“We have the local knowledge so he’s keen to work with us. He has a crew in working on the empty units and they’re there until all hours. He means business.
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Sources close to Percolt say the company is striving to ensure that the revamped village centre will provide a mix of quality retailers who will attract locals back to the area.
But while the project has been embraced with optimism from FVR, other community groups and local traders, there are concerns that political bureaucracy could hamper plans.
It had been hoped that the new Finglas primary care centre would be located close the village but local councillors are voting on a HSE proposal for it to be built on a greenfield site in Finglas West at a meeting this Friday (June 21).
Question marks also remain over the village post office, which many believe is a crucial element of the plan’s success. It’s understood a number of applications to run a new sub post office in the area have been submitted to An Post but so far nothing has been confirmed.
Recent electoral boundary changes could also hinder the project as the village will effectively be divided into two separate districts for next year’s local elections.
The new boundary draws a line through Finglas which sees Main Street, St Canice’s Church and the village shopping centre moved into the Ballymun Ward, while Superquinn, The Shamrock pub and the local credit union will be represented by a different set of councillors. This has led to fears that the village could fall foul of political territorial battles in the future.
However, despite these possible setbacks the general mood for the village’s future remains optimistic.
“I was in the village for the launch of the new Finglas Heritage Trail last week and you could see all the elements starting to come together,
? local councillor Paul McAuliffe (FF) told Northside People.
“The developer was there, the new traders’ association was there, the Tolka Partnership were there, the Friends of Finglas Village were there, the tidy towns group were there and FVR were there. Over the last 12 months we’ve seen all the ingredients come together. When the community and traders work and support each other it can be a real recipe for success.
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The current optimistic atmosphere will be celebrated in two weeks’ time when a mini summer festival backed by local traders will bring music and family activities along Main Street on July 2.
An official launch of the project is expected to be announced over the coming weeks. In the meantime it’s hoped to build on initiatives such as free parking at Drogheda Mall and St Canice’s Church car park on Saturdays to increase footfall to the village.