A survey of business owners in Gorey, New Ross and Wexford has found there is an appetite for providing outdoor dining from restaurateurs and for pedestrianisation.
Following on from the County Wexford Chamber’s briefing with CEO of Fáilte Ireland Paul Kelly and the recent announcement of the Outdoor Seating & Accessories for Tourism & Hospitality Businesses grant, the chamber wanted to gather the views of the business community and hear their recommendations about the pedestrianisation of streets to create outdoor dining facilities.
Forty-nine per cent of people were located in Wexford, 23 per cent in Gorey, 21 per cent in New Ross and seven per cent in Enniscorthy.
When asked ‘what street in your town do you feel is most suited to pedestrianise and create an outdoor dining space on? 18 per cent answered Wexford Main Street, 12 per cent answered Quay Street, 8 per cent answered Henrietta Street, and 7 per cent answered South Street. There was a large variety of answers which have been broken down into a pie chart to analyse further.
When asked ‘would your business create an outdoor dining facility if quality structures were put in place?’, 42 per cent answered yes, 11 per cent answered no and 47 per cent said the question did not apply to them.
When asked ‘if an outdoor facility was created, would your business require climatic protection?’ 45 per cent answered yes, 7 per cent answered no and 48 per cent said that the question did not apply to them.
The chamber also asked if the respondent’s business would be applying for the outdoor seating and dining grant, to which 38 per cent answered yes, 19 per cent answered no and 43 per cent said that the question did not apply to them.
County Wexford Chamber Director of Operations Emma Dunphy said: ‘The outdoor dining scheme applications is through Wexford County Council and the Chamber is encouraging any interested business who meet the criteria to apply.
‘We wanted to gather the views of the business community across County Wexford and hear their recommendations about the pedestrianisation of town streets to create outdoor dining facilities. It’s going to be an outdoor summer by necessity and the Chamber is committed to supporting the County Wexford hospitality sector to maximize the months ahead.’
