A Waterford Cllr feels now is the perfect time to revitalise the 'Millenium Plaza' in Waterford City.
The "William Vincent Wallace 'Millenium' Plaza" opened to the public 20 years ago - one year after the turn of the century.
Eddie Mulligan feels the plaza has deteriorated considerably over the past number of years for various reasons such as its waterside location.
However, the Deputy Mayor of Waterford City and Council says that from the very beginning there should have been a larger maintenance budget put in place.
"Anything that is close to the water is high maintenance and whether people realise it or not the challenges that we had here over the years are largely connected to the funnel effect of the wind here.
"Between the temperature difference from the river and the air, and the funnel effect of the high-ground on both sides it can be very windy here. With the sea-air coming in from the flood tide there is a lot of aggressive erosion," Mulligan said.
Photo: Bandstand at the William Vincent Wallace Millenium Plaza
Although there is an argument that the plaza's riverside location is a contributing factor in the condition of the structure, Mulligan said there's also an argument for investment.
"Over the last number of years, it has been neglected... The decking has become quite tarnished, the steel-work which was supposed to reflect the derricks and cranes that you would see on boats and shipping has corroded with the paint.
"You have the old mast and bridge-type structure and again that has become quite deteriorated and a bit of an eyesore.
"Really the whole Millenium Plaza needs a bit of TLC from a money aspect," Cllr Mulligan said.
At the most recent Metropolitan Council Meeting, the council said they plan to clean the canopy at the plaza this year and are currently trying to get some prices from contractors.
Increased footfall and new businesses
Since the introduction of public health restrictions, more people are using public spaces such as the plaza which has brought more footfall to the area.
Furthermore, the Viking Triangle has brought a new lease of life to the southside of the Quay, and new businesses such as Trade Coffee, Nest and Bébhínn have decided to call this area their home.
"When I became a councillor one of the biggest representations made by the executive was that they wanted to see businesses invest and at the moment we can see that businesses have invested on the quay even in these trying times and during the Covid pandemic.
"The shop-fronts are looking well, we have new businesses beginning to arrive here on the quay, so I think now is the time for the council to look at this eyesore, invest in it and take advantage of the fact people are making the most of the outdoors," Mulligan said.
Nearby business owner, Fintan Stanely from Trade Coffee says there's been a noticeable change in peoples habits. Stanley opened his shop and barista school just over a year ago on the Quay in Waterford City.
"What Covid has done for people- it's made people more open to sitting outside and having a cup of coffee outside as opposed to sitting inside and they will go to the plaza where they're able to sit down.
"People probably drove past and walked past the plaza for years and never realised it but now when they're not able to sit indoors, they discovering these lovely places. We often see people come in getting a coffee and you look out the window and they're sitting on the wall on the quay."
"Covid has opened our eyes up to some things that are right in front of our eyes that we never saw before," the owner of Trade Coffee said.
Photo: Fintan Stanley from Trade and Sinead Palmer from Nest - two businesses located on The Quay in Waterford
Sinead Palmer, who opened up her interior homeware shop 'Nest' right at the beginning of the pandemic feels people are really starting to appreciate the city's quays.
"There's a lovely vibe here, particularly on a Saturday. It's a thing to do, people will come in and have a mosey around and people have rediscovered this part of the city, and discovered that there's a very unique vibe here - almost cosmopolitan.
"The plaza is right in front of us and sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until you need it, as we have done over the past while. Waterford has a massive art and culture undertone and that space is there to be used.
"When people come into Waterford this is what they see so why not use this space to its full capacity," the owner of Nest.
The future
In 2020 Waterford Chamber and Waterford Council launched their 'Big Little Ideas' - an initiative where the public was asked to come up with an idea to revitalise Waterford's retail, tourism and hospitality sector, supporting local businesses and ensuring we can all access our public amenities safely.
Mulligan said that the second most popular idea was to revitalise the plaza and thinks a selfie station would help mark the space as a tourism destination.
"The second most popular idea that came in was to reinvent the plaza, get it back into use and part in parcel of that was marking it as 'Where the Greenway Begins'.
Photo: Proposal for a selfie station
"I was at a City Centre Management Group Meetings and I saw where Dungarvan have put a selfie-station marking the home of the Greenway, so we raised whether it would be a good idea to put a selfie-station on the plaza," Mulligan said.
As Covid-19 restrictions are set to continue and this space is utilised more and more by the public, the question is will this Waterford landmark see any investment 20 years on?
