Budget 2017: Confidence growing in Clonakilty

Business owners in Clonakilty say the town is recovering nicely but they want their town council back, writes Noel Baker

The gongs keep coming for Clonakilty. Just last month the West Cork town was named as one of the 100 most sustainable towns in the world, but it is sustaining that atmosphere that dominates talk ahead of Budget 2017. Nobody takes anything for granted here.

The latest census provisionally puts Clonakilty’s population as having increased by up to 5% from the 2011 figure of just over 4,700, with a growth in population of up to 10% in the surrounding area. The draw of Inchydoney and other beaches kept tourism steady while the Wild Atlantic Way also helped to attract the crowds. Horrendous flooding in 2012 sparked intensified calls for proper flood relief works. They are now completed, alongside a stylishly redeveloped main drag. The next major development is a large new production facility for Clonakilty Black Pudding, complete with visitors centre.