‘A sad day for Ballymun’ as local Supervalu announces closure after 17 years

Ballymun ‘needs more housing and people’ to support local business, says councillor after SuperValu closure

Yesterday at 12:14

Ballymun needs more housing so there’s more people to support local businesses following the closure of SuperValu, one local councillor said.

Councillor Noeleen Reilly said businesses are struggling to survive due to the lack of people living in Ballymun and more homes should be built on vacant land in the northside community.

“When I heard the news I was shocked. It just wasn’t viable, I’ve spoken to Robert, their family have given everything to Ballymun. But overall, for the local economy, it’s very worrying that our main supermarket can’t survive,” she said.

“We haven’t been able to get anybody who’s interested in building a shopping centre in the area either, they don’t think it’d be viable.

“The disposable income of people in Ballymun is just so low, that needs to change. We need to raise the income levels of people in the area so the local economy can be supported. I don’t think there’s any business there that is flourishing, that’s really worrying.

“We need to look at housing in the area. Ballymun has more available land than anywhere else in the DCC region. A lot of the land used to have flats on it, now it doesn’t. All that land is available.

“It’d bring more people in to support local businesses. Our population has decreased, it has been a factor over the past 20 years. When the flats came down, a lot of people moved out of the area.

“Land is scarce in Dublin, there’s an opportunity to build affordable and social housing within Ballymun. It’s certainly not worse than anywhere else, it has its issues but these issues exist everywhere.

“The high rents are killing everyone, even if they’re on HAP. We need to ensure people have more money in their pockets and that can support local business.

“I hope Musgraves think of the community when they decide what to do with the building. We have to keep the community vibrant. There’s a job of work to do in terms of supporting the economy, we don’t want any businesses closing,” she added.

Cllr Reilly highlighted that the closure of SuperValu will have a negative effect on the community, but she’s pleased to say there’s no concern over the Post Office located in the shop just yet.

“It’s very disappointing. I do an outdoor clinic there every Friday, it’s certainly more than a supermarket, it was a place where people met up. The Post Office is based there, a lot of senior citizens would’ve used that.

“The Post Office will remain in Ballymun, six months at its current location until the Murphys sort an alternative.”

Councillor Briege MacOscar echoed the disappointment in the community over the closure of SuperValu.

“It is sad. The community is very upset. Robert Murphy who runs SuperValu, lifted Ballymun in many ways with his very good service to the area,” she said.

“SuperValu is a hub on the main street. If any group needed any catering or any prizes for raffles, he’d always give. It’s worrying that a commercial outlet is closing in Ballymun. Ballymun should be thriving, but to see them closing up is quite upsetting.

“There’s 45 staff losing their jobs, that’s a huge number. It’s important we do all we can as councillors to make sure people are looked after. Hopefully we can help people find work in the area, whether it’s in retail or hospitality.

“People are worried about the Post Office. Robert hopes to relocate that somewhere on the main street,” she added.