FLASHBACK: Shopping arcade for High Street in Kilkenny

The contract for the building of a £200,000 two story shopping arcade in High Street was signed in the Newpark Hotel on Monday.

Marble City Enterprises are building the arcade, which is on the site of what was formerly the business premises of Messrs ML Potter and Co.

The premises will have a foot space of 12,000 square feet and will provide accommodation for 12 shops. The arcade will have a 50 feet frontage.

Alderman Henderson told a Kilkenny People reporter that one of the aims of the shopping arcade was to preserve the centre of the city where there are many large ratepayers.

“I hope the new arcade will encourage further development of derelict sites in the centre of the city,” he said. “We are pleased that in the building of the arcade we will be providing local employment, while there will be scope for employment when the shops are in operation.”

PARENTS TO FIGHT DEPARTMENT
Angered by what they term almost callous disregard by the Department of Education for the Kilkenny City Vocational School, the parents of 450 students have now banded together to fight for overdue improvements.

“Our patience has run out,” said Michael Muldowney, chairman of the new City Vocational School Students Parents Association.

“Ours has been a Cinderella school for too long. We are demanding immediate indication from the Department of their intention to provide our children with the facilities they require so urgently.”

The parents are hardly unreasonable in their demands. For some time classes have been conducted in converted bicycle sheds.

If it rains the building materials and processes classes may have to be cancelled or at least reorganised.

For the practical side of the classes has to be conducted not only in the open air, but in five different corners of the school’s former playground.

Equipment is so scarce for the office procedures course that heavy business machines have to be carted daily from the school’s offices to the classrooms.

And classrooms are so scarce that it is not unusual for the people bringing office equipment into a room for a class to meet colleagues coming out with other equipment.

“When the situation was outlined at a recent parent-teacher meeting we decided something must be done,” said Mr Muldowney.

“We now intend to ensure that Kilkenny Vocational School will not be ignored any longer.”