New Waterford Council CEO outlines his vision for the Déise and its capital
Sean McKeown, Waterford City and County Council's new CEO, says: 'We need to ensure that we have a vibrant experiential shopping offering in particular.' Photo: Noel Browne
The Waterford News & Star met with new City and County Council Chief Executive Sean McKeown last week to discuss his vision for Waterford.
Mr McKeown outlined his views on a number of key developments, including the North Quays, SETU, the city centre and Waterford Airport.
Housing and tourism, he said, will be key priorities during his tenure.
On Monday, July 1, the elected members of Waterford City and County Council ratified the appointment of Sean McKeown as Chief Executive. He officially assumed the role on August 21, which was previously held by longstanding Chief Executive, Michael Walsh.
Originally hailing from Armagh, McKeown has a distinguished career in local government, having served most recently as Director of Planning, Economic and Environmental Services at Kilkenny County Council. Prior to that, he was Interim Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council for over 15 months following the retirement of Colette Byrne.
He has also served as Director of the South East Action Plan for Jobs and Head of Enterprise and Economic Development with Kilkenny County Council.
“I’ve got a great welcome to Waterford,” Mr. McKeown said, “We have great staff here and a very strong pipeline of projects and strategies.
"I believe Waterford is in a great place right now and full of opportunity.
“We’re one of the fastest growing counties in the country and I see my role as chief executive of the council very much as ensuring Waterford reaches its full potential locally, regionally and nationally,” he said.
Mr McKeown said he believes Waterford to be the capital of the South East and that the county is critical to the region’s success.
“I consider and believe that the success of Waterford is very much the barometer for the success of the region. The region needs Waterford to do well, and I think our neighbouring local authorities know that and we work quite well with them.
“It’s really important that we drive on Waterford, and that Waterford as the capital of the South East is consolidated and we attract the investment that’s necessary.
"The North Quays is a visible sign of that investment, but we need to attract more.”
Speaking on his vision moving forward, he said: “There will be change involved, but it’s up to us to sell and communicate the vision and the changes we’re proposing.”
The CEO outlined that he has been working to build a close relationship both with council staff and with the wider community during the first month of his new role.
“I think the council here have a key leadership role in the physical, economic, social and cultural development of the county, but we are only one stakeholder and we do need to work with the wider community, with the elected members, citizens, business community and state agencies,” he said.
The chief executive attended his first Council meeting last week to engage with and listen to the concerns of the elected members of the city and county.
“It’s very much a hand in glove relationship between the executive and the elected members and I like to think I’ve got off to a very good start,” he said.
“I’m meeting each of the individual elected members on a one-to-one basis. I’ve already met the majority of them and I will be meeting them all."
He added, “My door is very much open to the elected members and with the wider community to hear their concerns.”
One such example of early public engagement Mr McKeown outlined is the recently launched public consultation on Waterford council’s corporate plan.
Mr McKeown commended the work of former Council CEO Michael Walsh, who had held the position since 2014.
“The pipeline of strong strategies and projects that we have in place and the strong relationship we have between the executive and the elected members is in no small part due to Michael’s leadership. He was an outstanding leader within this council.
“I am in a very good place because very strong momentum has been developed and I want to build on that.”
The inevitable topic of housing was discussed during the meeting, to which the new chief executive said that the delivery of accommodation will remain a priority of the council.
“It's a key priority for the whole country,” he said, “and I think every local authority is treating it as a crisis and we’re responding to it accordingly."
He commented that while "without question" Waterford Council is currently delivering on its Housing For All targets, more momentum is needed.
He said that by 2026 the council aims to deliver close to 1,300 units, and said “there’s no doubt we will deliver those units”.
“We need housing across all tenures. Our city and county development plan says we need about 800 units a year delivered to meet the demographic need and growth of our city and county.
"We’re at about 70% of that at the moment, so we need to really escalate delivery of housing and I will be engaging with the construction sector to do that.
“I’m keen and housing is one of my key priorities. The county and city will not progress if we don’t get the delivery of housing."
Waterford Council has been issuing a steady surge of derelict site notices to owners of vacant city centre units recently, and Mr. McKeown said that pattern will continue.
“The local authority here has been a trailblazer in terms of the regeneration of our towns, villages and city centre, in particular with dereliction and vacancy.
“In the last four or five years, there’s about 600 disused and vacant buildings that have been brought back in conjunction with the private sector.
"We’re working hand in glove with the private sector to address the blight we have in our town centres, in our city centre in particular.”
He added that there’s a further 700 units in the pipeline to be developed.
Despite a catchment within the radius of Waterford city of approximately 630,000 people, the city centre is not receiving its fair share of retail dividend, Mr. McKeown said.
“Our town centres are changing and the experience that people are looking for is changing, so we need to make our city centre more attractive and more appealing so we can attract a greater number of that catchment area.
“With the way retail has gone, there’s convenience shopping and there’s experiential shopping. We need to ensure that we have a vibrant shopping offering and that we have that experiential shopping offering in particular.
“So we’ll be working hard with the chamber and other stakeholders and we have the City Centre Management Group in place that is currently looking at initiatives to improve the offerings, the look and feel and the appeal of our city centre."
Mr McKeown said that as chief executive, he wants to double the contribution of tourism to the local economy in the next five years, and when asked about his plans for rural Waterford, he outlined that tourism will be a key asset.
“There are various objectives that I’ve set myself, one of those objectives would be under the tourism banner. We have outstanding natural and tourism assets and infrastructure here but we’re not getting that dividend.
“The plan is very much gelling the city and county, and rural tourism alongside tourism in general is one key aspect that I see where the city and county can come together."
Speaking on the North Quays, Mr McKeown said he has full trust in Dublin-based property development and management company, Harcourt Developments in effectively delivering the project.
“We have a very good partner in Harcourt Developments. Harcourt have done this in other cities, particularly in Belfast. We watched that from afar so we have great confidence."
The Chief Executive said he is confident that there will be a clean transition from construction site to a fully completed commercial, retail and residential offering. He also ensured that the development will not detract from Waterford’s city centre.
“It’s important that we align the completion of the public investment that we’re making to enable and facilitate the site with the commencement of the commercial elements. That’s a challenge and we’re in discussion with Harcourt to ensure that that transition is seamless and that we deliver the building blocks in phase one as quickly as possible.
“The North Quays will be a seamless extension of our city centre. It won’t compete with what we have here. That’s really important that we don’t jeopardise what we have here now,” he added.
The uncertainty of Waterford Airport’s future continues to permeate most monthly meetings of Waterford councillors.
Mr McKeown reiterated during our meeting that the council will “certainly be giving Waterford airport full support” and that he is confident that the development may be recognised in the upcoming budget.
“I believe it’s a transformative project for the South East. Two other local authorities, Kilkenny and Wexford, are also partners in the project and they see the dividend that it will bring, particularly from a business and tourism perspective.
Mr McKeown outlined that with a minimum of two or three routes from a major airline carrier, Waterford and the further South East region could receive anywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 tourism visitors.
“SETU has been a gamechanger for the South East” the chief executive said. “Having a university makes Waterford and the South East more marketable from an inward investment point of view, it’s a huge brand in terms of inward investment.
"Secondly, it will help stem the brain drain.
“We have a very good working relationship with the president and her management team and I would very much be looking to continue that.
“I’m delighted they got their veterinary school and I think its onwards and upwards for SETU.”
Mr McKeown was keen to commend the Council’s environment team for the vital ground work they do on a daily basis.
“It’s very important we don’t forget about the basics, such as street cleaning, landscaping, presentation, look and feel, because that’s the immediate thing people will pick up on when they drive through the county and arrive in our city, towns and villages.
“Our environment team and street cleaning teams do an excellent job. Our city, towns and villages are always very well presented.
"I'd like to recognise the hard work and effort that both our team does, and the Tidy Towns teams do, right throughout the city and county."
The CEO voiced his support for offshore wind developments on Waterford coasts.
“I think Waterford is perfectly placed as a coastal county to deliver on that particular strategic opportunity and certainly it’s one of my aims that we maximise that opportunity as a local authority,” he said.
Waterford was voted Best Place To Live by the Irish Times in 2021. The CEO expressed his pride on the county receiving this accolade, and said the city and county will now need to consolidate this reputation:
“Now that we have that accolade, I want to make sure we retain it and it’s all about the quality of life and the offering you can give your people. I’m very fortunate and excited to take up the role at this time, because I think Waterford is full of opportunity and I’d like to take it forward.”
