Brady Calls for Enterprise Centre at Old AO Smith Plant

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Following moves by Bray Town Council to force the owners of the old AO Smith site to keep the area clean and safe, Cllr. John Brady has called for an enterprise centre to be built in the area. "This is a perfect time. The housing bubble has burst and the pressure is no longer there to turn every piece of land in to apartment blocks. Employment is falling, so this is the ideal time to support home grown businesses," Brady said. Bray Town Council has served a derelict site notice on the owners of the old AO Smith factory at the corner of Boghall and Killarney roads. The town can now force the owners to clean up the site and make it safe. If they fail to do so, Bray has the power to do the work itself and bill the owners for the costs. "I have campaigned consistently over the past years for this site to be tidied up. It is now fenced off, and is no longer available for drinking and drug parties. The old reservoir has been drained and filled in. The ladders leading up the roof will soon be taken care of. Those things alone were tragedies waiting to happen," Brady said. "I understand the IDA has a lien on the property and that they are in discussions with the owners. The Wicklow County Enterprise Board has been looking for suitable property for some time in Bray. I fully support them in this effort. Other towns in Wicklow have enterprise centres and they are invaluable resources for entrepreneurs getting started. Bray needs one. We need employment. The State needs to stand on its own two feet as a 'knowledge economy.' We cannot rely on multinationals for ever. We need homegrown businesses to take over, and they will need support," Brady said. "The bottom has fallen out of the employment market in Bray in recent years. We had high profile job losses in AO Smith and Dell. Shops are closing and laying people off on the Main Street. This is a great location in terms of infrastructure. We need to look to new ways of encouraging local businesses and rebuilding our local jobs base," Brady concluded.