I should probably explain the format before anyone gets confused.
This is, technically, an SEO article for “Lurgan marketing consultant”. Which means it should be constructive, helpful and broadly optimistic.

Unfortunately, it’s also about my home town, Lurgan.
And my home town is being quietly dismantled by people who have absolutely no clue what their job is.

So what follows is my attempt to be helpful, strategic and constructive, while also voicing my calm inner rage at how enthusiastically we’re ruining a place I actually care about. Think of it as civic pride, expressed through irritation.

The problem? High rates. Empty units. Indistinguishable retail. No clear reason to visit. No reason to invest. And absolutely no shared understanding of what the town is actually for.

What is Lurgan’s Value Proposition?

(And Please Don’t Say “Community”.)

Let’s start with the most basic marketing question imaginable:

Why would anyone choose Lurgan over somewhere else?

Not because it’s nearby.
Not because it has history/heritage.
Not because people are “generous and lovely”.

A value proposition. A reason to choose. Something distinctive, defensible and relevant.

At present, Lurgan has none, which is impressive, given how much time and money have been spent on a range of bullshit schemes and plans to the contrary.

The shutter graphics are a case in point. I’d genuinely like to know who believed they would do anything other than make the town look worse, which, to be fair, takes effort. Was cheap, tacky and gaudy the objective?

Town centres are businesses. This should not be radical.

Somehow, town centres have been rebranded as “community spaces”, as if that exempts them (or the people supposedly in charge of them) from economics.

It doesn’t.

Town centres compete with retail parks, shopping centres, neighbouring towns and, increasingly, people’s sofas and Netflix. That means they need positioning, pricing logic, capital and leadership.

This is why places like Rushmere work. You don’t have to admire them to recognise competence. They know who they’re for, what they offer, and why people go there instead of somewhere else.

That clarity is not accidental. It’s a commercial discipline.

Leadership, capital and why Lurgan has neither

The fundamental difference between Rushmere and Lurgan town centre is leadership — and the capital that leadership attracts.

Capital does not appear because you are hopeful, historic or well-intentioned. It follows competence. It backs people who understand consumer behaviour, market realities, risk, and return.

Make no mistake: capital will never come to Lurgan without credible commercial leadership. And at present, there is none.

High rates, low logic

High rates in a town with no value proposition are not “unfortunate”. They are self-inflicted.

Price is a signal. And the signal in Lurgan is clear:
“Take all the risk. Absorb all the cost. Expect minimal demand.”

Independent artisan and hospitality businesses — the only realistic source of differentiation — are priced out. What remains is vacancy, churn and the gradual normalisation of mediocrity.

Brownlow House: A case study in commercial self-sabotage

The repurposing of Brownlow House and its surrounding redevelopment and planning process deserves serious study, if only as a warning.

One of the town’s most beautiful historic assets, with genuine commercial and tourism potential, has been destroyed. A major hotel or destination attraction would have delivered significant, predictable economic stimulus, the kind any functioning local economy actively pursues.

Instead, we managed to take one of our most valuable assets and neutralise it entirely through piss poor planning and zero strategic foresight. Quite an achievement.

Endless process, zero decisions

The pattern is familiar.

Endless consultation.
Cosmetic fixes.
No decisions involving trade-offs.
No appetite for saying no.
Plenty of enthusiasm for reports — all debated at length in cosy meeting rooms over tea, sandwiches and an impressive assortment of baked goodies.

The proof, after all, is in the eating. Lurgan Town Centre is destroyed with no strategic vision to turn it around.

The brutal truth

Lurgan is not dying because of online shopping.
It is not dying because of the economy.
It is dying because it has no value proposition, no commercial leadership, and no long-term strategic intent.

Lurgan is being shaped by local councillors and civil servants who, almost without exception, do not have any commercial or strategic experience.

This is not a personal attack. But the reality is those in charge are trained to manage process, policy and compliance — not to build value propositions, attract capital, or think competitively over a 5, 10 or 15-year horizon. They have never had to convince an investor, back a long-term bet, or explain to a board why money should be put at risk in one place rather than another.

The result?

Slow.
Predictable.
Entirely self-inflicted.

Death.

About the Author

Jonathan Drainey is a Fractional Marketing Director and Brand Strategist/Designer, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He believes design and brand are commercial weapons, not decoration. He has a proven track record in transforming intellectual property into market-ready products, building challenger brands, and creating clear, defensible value propositions that drive sustainable, long-term growth.

His work focuses on omnichannel strategy, brand equity and operational execution, particularly with ambitious, high-growth businesses across the agri-food, health, energy, technology and industrial sectors, with a strong interest in the circular economy.

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