Support package to benefit Carrick night time economy - Chamber President

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media,Catherine Martin TD has announced a support package for the night-time economy which includes a new pilot scheme, in partnership with the Arts Council, to help existing arts and cultural spaces open their doors to new late night activity and a €2 million capital grant scheme to support venues implement soundproofing measures at their venues to reduce noise at night.
President of Carrick- on-Shannon Chamber of Commerce, Colm McGrath spoke to the Leitrim Observer saying that he believed the noise mitigation grant scheme in particular could potentially benefit Carrick-on-Shannon.
“We do have a late night economy; there are a lot of bars and nightclubs open until 2am. Certainly if there is anything that can be utilised it would be welcome. Most of the noise happens when everyone is leaving the nightclub all at once and looking for taxis,” he said.
A maximum allowable grant of €70,000 will be made available, per project, to fund works such as the installation/replacement of noise cancelling systems, the construction of acoustic absorbers and the installation of outdoor noise barriers.
Mr McGrath continued: “If there are areas around the town where that scheme can work then it would be a benefit and will only enhance what we do with regard to the Purple Flag and the initiatives that we have around that.
“If you go around Carrick-on-Shannon on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you'll see that it's very clean compared, to other towns, after hens and stags, and that's mainly because we have what's called the Ambassador Programme; where four or five people go out on a Saturday night from around 10pm to 4am and they basically clean up after everybody. They also keep an eye on things too; like if there are people who are in trouble later.”
He added: “I think if anything can be done to reduce noise around hotspots in the town where residents are being impacted, that would be great and should be welcomed.”
€800,000 in funding has been allocated to support art centres and cultural spaces to open later and diversify their offering. In partnership with the Arts Council, 12 pilots will be selected to support innovative approaches to night-time cultural activities.
Mr McGrath said he would like to see the Market Yard utilised a bit more.
“The Market Yard is going to be renovated starting at the end of September and there will be more of an amphitheatre type feel to it and obviously there is a roof there already.
“In conjunction with The Dock, there could be maybe some outdoor events held there whether they are music events or outdoor cinema. I think those sorts of things would be of more interest to families than nightclub goers.
“So if we can avail of some of the funding or ideas around that coming from the Arts Council and work with The Dock on some pilot schemes, that would be great,” he said.

Late Night Events Pilot Programme
The Late Night Events Pilot Programme, which is being rolled out by the Arts Council and funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is aimed at art centres in towns and cities around the country, who are in receipt of Arts Council Art Centre Funding or Arts Grant Funding (arts centres).
The selected pilot art centres will be required to host events late at night, events could range from traditional music to electronic music, DJ nights, theatre, comedy or dance. The pilots will also seek to identify and address any challenges which arts centres may associate with staying open late.
Funding of up to €60,000 is available for the selected lead arts centre.