BALLYHAUNIS BUSINESS SURVEY November 2015

Transcription

1 BALLYHAUNIS BUSINESS SURVEY November 2015 Ballyhaunis Community Council Ballyhaunis Chamber

2 Introduction This survey was carried out in November 2015 by Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce with support from Ballyhaunis Community Council and Mayo Community Futures as part of the Ballyhaunis Community Futures Renewal Process. There were 39 replies from the business community. They included respondents in the retail, hospitality, services and manufacturing sectors. 1. What do you like about having a business in Ballyhaunis? Good relationship with clients 38 Friendly town, good community spirit 31 Location 23 Support for local businesses 23 Free parking 13 Other comments Flow of people passing through Businesses help each other Employment/incomes in the town Limited competition Adequate broadband Support services available Variety of clubs/societies Skilled labour force

3 2. What do you not like about having a business in Ballyhaunis? Wages being spent elsewhere 21 Limited choice of products/services 21 Poor parking 15 Shabby shop fronts 15 Limited customer base 13 Rates too high 10 Hard to attract skilled/professional staff 8 Other comments Needs a gym Poor broadband Poor road infrastructure Lack of Garda presence Increasing overheads Limited expansion opportunities Cost to consumer No covered swimming pool Lack of footfall

4 3. What would make Ballyhaunis better for business? Wider variety of businesses 26 Tidy up the derelict buildings and approach roads 26 Better parking/parking charges 18 Lidl/Aldi type store 13 Encourage money earned locally to be spent in town 13 Hotel/meeting facilities 13 Traffic Management Plan 13 Other comments Ring road Better roads Better broadband Signs for car parking in town and on approach roads Get litter under control Businesses to work together Improved rental accommodation Look for help from Public Representatives Provide indoor children s play area, bowling, crèche, pool Farmers Market Advertise the airport Incentives for small town/rural re-generation scheme Carry out a skills audit and match to new possible businesses Develop Friary e.g. Tourist Information Office Develop walking and nature tours More industry/employment Tap into the airport as a resource Longer opening hours Access from Johnston s car park to Main Street

5 4. What do you think BUSINESSES can do to make Ballyhaunis better? Run Come to Ballyhaunis campaign with competitions, 41 loyalty cards etc Everyone to work together 28 Encourage entrepreneurship/young people 21 Keep shop fronts attractive 15 Have more diverse products and services 8 Other Comments Lobby for by pass Lobby for better broadband Lobby for Lidl/Aldi Lobby for better parking and traffic management Lobby T.D S, public representatives Create more employment Cheaper prices Provide activities for those accompanying shoppers Organise mini festivals Make businesses wheelchair accessible Relocate the Fás/ Solas office Ask larger businesses to contribute to development Integrate more with the community Better management of the bottle bank Revamp the Parochial Hall

6 Analysis Question 1. What do you like about having a business in Ballyhaunis? A large number of businesses replied that they found Ballyhaunis a friendly place to do business in and that they had a good relationship with their clients. Location was also seen as a strength as was support from other local businesses. Question 2. What do you not like about having a business in Ballyhaunis? The top dislike was the fact that money earned in the town was not being spent there and there was also dissatisfaction about the limited choice of products/services available. Poor parking and the shabby look of some of the areas in town (Lr. Main St. and Knox St. in particular) were also seen as dislikes. Question 3. What would make Ballyhaunis better for business? Having a wider variety of businesses was seen as a way of making Ballyhaunis better for businesses as was tidying up the town and making it look more vibrant and attractive. Making parking easier for customers also featured highly as a way of stimulating business and the surveys suggested a number of ways to do this. They included looking at a one way system for part of the town, introducing parking charges and encouraging people working in the town to park off the main thoroughfares. A number of respondents also put forward the idea of attracting an anchor such as Lidl/Aldi to Ballyhaunis to draw in customers. Question 4. What do you think BUSINESSES can do to make Ballyhaunis better? A significant number of businesses put forward the idea of a promotional campaign with competitions, loyalty cards, discounts etc. Also noteworthy was the suggestion that everyone should work together, that entrepreneurship should be supported and young people should be encouraged to start businesses in Ballyhaunis.