3.6 Retail

3.6 Retail

3.6.1 Retail Hierarchy

With a population of 4,820, Listowel is a Tier 4 retail centre under the RPG Retail Hierarchy. The Primary retail area in Listowel is incorporated within the Town Centre. It includes:

• The entirety of William Street and the element of Upper William Street stretching to the Post office area and part of Upper William Street.
• Main Street and Church Street from the Square to the junction with Courthouse Road.
• Market Street / Ballybunion road stretching from the junction of William Street to the Supervalu.

Map 3.3: Town Centre/Retail Zoning

The priority for developing future retailing facilities (excluding retail warehousing and localised convenience shopping) should be in Listowel Town Centre. Listowel was the pilot town for the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Retail Development Programme in 2016. Kerry County Council is committed to ensuring the town centre area remains commercially viable, active and buoyant.

3.6.2 Retail Regeneration

Listowel town has faced considerable difficulties over the years to retain vibrancy and vitality in the face of a number of challenges including edge of town shopping on the John B Keane road. Challenges such as vacancy and dereliction, weakening town centre retail mix, changing trends in consumer behaviour, coupled with greater consumer mobility has added to the issues over the years. The depopulation of the traditional town core area has also exacerbated the issue.

Building critical population mass and addressing the challenges of town centre renewal and regeneration is a key objective of this plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of the town in terms of sustainable jobs growth and retail sales.

Listowel Town Centre needs to build on its strengths from a social, cultural, heritage and economic perspective, strengthen its own identity, town centre experience and offering in order to secure its future.

Recent initiatives such as the Listowel Economic Strategy 2019 – 2021 and the Listowel brand “where stories begin” and website, together with the Council’s on-going commitment to facilitating public realm enhancements where possible will create a suitable environment for future investment in the town and will significantly improve the town centre experience for workers and visitors to the town.

3.6.3 Shopfronts & Signage

Listowel retains many simple classically proportioned shopfronts, once so plentiful in Irish market towns, on streets still punctuated by carriage arches along the edge.  It is from this unique vernacular tradition that Listowel’s built heritage is of exceptional value, in terms of its contribution to Irish decorative art, craftsmanship and culture. The historic shopfronts and façades of Listowel Town Centre remain an extraordinary legacy and render the town unique in an Irish context.  

Therefore, the wealth of unique characteristics and array of traditional features in Listowel’s streetscapes requires conservation.  Kerry County Council will ensure the conservation of noteworthy features and architectural detailing of structures, the character of buildings and the continuity / homogeneity of terrace designs, which contribute to urban form and visual amenity and architectural interest, including its shopfronts.

The Council will encourage, through its Shopfront Design Guidelines (February 2018), the preservation and refurbishment of existing traditional shopfronts and name plates, and where appropriate the development of new high-quality shopfronts in traditional design. Non-traditional design shopfronts will only be considered if their design is sympathetic to adjacent facades and enhances, rather than detracts from the visual amenity of the streetscape.

The council will continue with initiatives to preserve and enhance the shopfronts and streetscapes of the town and source funding /grants.

Areas identified as Regeneration Areas (See 3.4.2) will also benefit from significant reductions in development contributions as per the Kerry County Council Contribution scheme 2017. This together with the Council’s on-going commitment to identifying public realm enhancement opportunities will create a suitable environment for future investment in the town and will significantly improve the town centre experience for retail outlet owners, workers, shoppers and visitors to the town.