Trim hotels have acted as catalysts for business

Dear sir - It was with total disbelief that I read the scandalous election literature which Cllr Phil Cantwell dropped through the letterboxes in Trim last week. A double-sided page with extracts of letters and scribbled notes refers to the Trim Castle Hotel car park and the controversy he raised about it dating back to 1997. Confirmation from Chuck Feeney, in a documentary on RTE 1 recently in which he stated that he should never have set up the Centre for Public Enquiry, should assure the people of the town, the voters, that the information contained in the leaflet from Cllr Cantwell is misrepresented. As a former president of the Trim & District Chamber of Commerce, and a businessperson in the town since 1985, I feel something has to be said to counteract this negativity and the personal attack he is making on the businesspeople who have worked hard to finally put Trim on the map as a great place to stay, a great place to eat, a great place to explore, a great place to shop and a great place to do business. As a result of the opening of Trim Castle Hotel, Knightsbrook Hotel Spa and Golf Resort, Brogan"s Hotel, the renovated Castle Arch Hotel, Highfield House and numerous other accommodation providers and restaurants, Trim is now a town that can accommodate tourists, festivals and conferences and provide much-needed facilities for the local people and businesses. The business community will confirm that, without the hotels, their trade would suffer and, in fact, many new businesses have set up as a result of the increased number of tourists staying in Trim and the conferences and business seminars that are now taking place as a result of these hotels being opened. Our town can now be proud of its facilities and we can all benefit from the increased business generated. I have to commend David & Lynda O"Brien, the Cusack family and all our businesspeople for their efforts in creating enterprise and employment in Trim. In this difficult economic climate, businesses like the Trim Castle Hotel, which has actually provided 250 car parking spaces in the town centre, should be supported and not be used as a cheap political vote-scoring exercise. I hope the people of the town will look at the real benefits of having a beautiful hotel beside the castle, instead of just car parking spaces - car parking spaces that would remain empty if it were not for the foresight of Trim Town Council and the businesspeople who invested heavily in providing much-needed facilities for us, the people who live here. Picture the difference in your own heads and look at the difference in your own wallets. Yours, Pauline Baker, Abbey View, Trim.