Saturday, December 5, 2015
Serving Cork for 120 years
Edition No: 36074
RRP: €1.50
Shops on target for best Christmas in years as vibrant Cork city cashes in on recovery
Jingle all the way! ■ Padraig Hoare
Power cuts, and flights and events cancelled as big storm blows on
CORK city has never been so vibrant — that’s the enthusiastic verdict of Cork Business Association chief executive Lawrence Owen as retailers prepare for a bonanza festive period. Shops in Cork are enjoying their best Christmas trade in years as consumer confidence rises. City traders, as well as shopping centres in the suburbs, have been enjoying the biggest consumer spend since the recession hit, with factors such as Black Friday, the Christmas festival Glow Cork and Oliver Plunkett Street’s award as best in Ireland and Britain all credited for the resurgence. Mr Owens said it has been a great start to the Christmas season in Cork for shops of all sizes. “I have never seen Cork as vibrant,” he said. “The city centre is looking so well with the Christmas lights, the feelgood factor of decorated shops and the buzz about the place of consumers.” A spokesperson for Cork City Council confirmed that its car parks were far busier this year in comparison to the recession years. More than 90,000 used parking facilities in the city in November, an increase on previous years. “ T h e r e h a s b e e n a n i m p r o ve m e n t i n t h e cumulative numbers of visitors using Cork City Council off street facilities over the last few months,” said the spokesperson. “During the month of November, there were more than 92,000 visitors to our multi-storey car parks and park and ride.” Opera Lane spokesperson Julie Evans said it had been a fantastic beginning of the Christmas season for the traders there, while Pam O’Regan of Saville Menswear said last weekend was a wonderful one for traders as customers came in droves. “The city centre is thriving this Christmas because positivity breeds positivity,” said Ms Evans. “People are spending that little bit extra this year as the economy stabilises and that means they are supporting their local retailers across the board. We expect it to get even better from here on in. We’re thrilled.” ■ Tills ring out in Cork: See pages 6 and 7.
WEATHER TONIGHT L: 10ºC
Windy with rain
9 770332 478167 49
05.12.2015 Recommended retail price € 1.50
■ Audrey Ellard Walsh
UPBEAT: Pam O’Regan, of Saville’s Menswear, says customers are flocking into the city. Inset: A thronged Oliver Plunkett Street Pictures: David Keane yesterday
A NUMBER of events have been cancelled around Cork today as the city and county experiences extremely wet and windy conditions while Storm Desmond continues to batter the coastline. The Kinsale and Bandon areas were worst affected by power outages overnight with 1,200 homes left without electricity as gusts of up to 118km/h were recorded off the west coast. ESB Networks were working overnight to repair faults, with power restored to all but 81 homes in Kinsale and 97 in Bandon by early this morning. Some 2,300 runners due to participate in the sold out Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon were disappointed to hear that the race was called off early this morning. Gardaí made the decision having driven the route and discovering that parts of the roads were underwater. Cork City Council’s Christmas festival Glow, which takes place in Bishop Lucey Park, will not open today due to strong wind warnings but is expected to be open tomorrow. Meanwhile, roads are wet around the city with AA Roadwatch advising motorists to drive with extra care. A number of flights in and out of Cork Airport were also cancelled this morning. ■ Weather and traffic chaos: Page 3