Marlfield Spar fell victim to anti-social behaviour
By Mary Dennehy
A TALLAGHT community has this week expressed anger over the closure of its local shop, which they believe fell victim to ongoing anti-social behaviour and theft.
Last Friday, July 15, the EuroSpar in Marlfield Mall, Kiltipper, closed its doors, due to a “challenging local trading environment” – which has resulted in the loss of two full-time and nine part-time staff.
In recent days, The Echo has been contacted by residents living in Ellensborough and Marlfield who have voiced their outrage over the loss of their local shop – due to the behaviour of a small number of young people in their area.
Some residents have also cited economic reasons for the closure of the shop.
One dad-of-two said: “Every time I was in the shop, I saw someone robbing stuff.
“I’d tell the staff but they were too afraid to do anything.
“EuroSpar isn’t the cheapest shop around and it was being downsized all the time.
“However, people up here know that the issue of anti-social behaviour has impacted on the shop’s decision to close – and we’re outraged that these young gangs have forced a business to close, cost people their jobs and a community its local shop.”
He added: “These young fellas are afraid of nobody and I think there’s a responsibility on their parents to know where they are and what they’re doing.
“The police can’t do anything because they’re juveniles, so people living in the area need to work together on this before our vibrant community loses out any more.”
The Eurospar would have primarily serviced people living in Marlfield, Ellensborough and some of the more rural areas located at the top of the Kiltipper Road like Ballamana Lane.
One young mother-of-three who lives in Marlfield said: “The shop was constantly being robbed. Only last week, kids as young as nine were robbing drink from the shelves.
“I have three children and I don’t drive so the shop closing is a massive inconvenience for me, or anybody who doesn’t drive or is elderly.
“People are now concerned over what will happen to the unit now and hoping that it is now empty for too long.
“This is a growing area with lots of families and we need a local shop.”
A senior Garda source at Tallaght Garda Station said that officers have responded to a number of reports of thefts from the EuroSpar this year and that Gardai do patrol the area regularly – alongside other Tallaght-based shopping centres.
When contacted by The Echo, a spokeswoman for Spar said: “SPAR can confirm that, as a result of a challenging local trading environment, SPAR Kiltipper in Tallaght has closed and ceased trading on Friday, 15 July.
“There are two full-time and nine part-time staff impacted but we are undertaking a comprehensive consultation process to identify suitable alternative employment opportunities.”
