This article is from page 23 of the 2005-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 23 JPG
ENNIS Town Council has given the go-ahead for a commercial development that is expected to further reyuve- nate the Drumbiggle part of eTom Kenai e
Earlier this year, Pat Hans- bury, Alan Collins and Do- nie and John Dillane lodged plans with the Council for a four storey building to con- tain 18 apartments and four retail units, along with an underground car-park to ac- commodate 46 car-parking Sey: eke
Currently, the site is waste- land opposite Ennis town Council’s Drumbiggle head- quarters and was the former site of the rundown Drumbig- gle flats before they were de- molished by the Council.
The Council subsequently sold the property and plans were lodged for the develop- ment earlier this year.
In its decision, the Council ruled that the development would not seriously injure the amenities of adjacent dwell- ings, is acceptable in terms of traffic safety and is in the interests of proper planning and development.
However, the plan has en- countered opposition from residents in the Buttermarket
area of Ennis. In an objection lodged with the Council, the residents claim that “the de- sign of the proposed structure is more appropriate to a city or sea/harbour location than a central location in a medium size town with streetscape of traditional design.”
SU ileaar Uomo t-b bee mm ner:l mmm lets proposal bears no relation- ship to any development in the vicinity with respect to scale or density and the scale of the building is excessive and will be unduly prominent in its setting with respect to all developments in the gen- eral area.”
They also claim that the building detracts from the visual amenity of the Town SEV o eel Cebuetcanysavloe miei Ker Kor@] Coxe CLO MELCLRU KOR
The residents also raise concerns over the impact the development will have on traffic in the area.
They state: “access to the underground car park is off the side road and will result in large volumes of traffic coming up and down Butter- market Street.
“This street is not capa- ble of taking the volumes of traffic that would be gener- ated by the development. The Council should also note that this street is used extensively
by school children walking to the nearby schools. Traffic generated by the development in these circumstances would be a serious traffic hazard.”
The residents also pointed out that the proposal is lo- cated within Ennis’s archi- tectural conservation area (ACA) where new buildings will be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that that such developments reflect the character of the area and its streetscape.
In the planner’s report on the case, it is stated: “the development now proposed, contains 18 apartments. The scale and extent of the pro- posal has now been consider- ably reduced from previous applications.
“The majority of the devel- opment now faces Drumbig- gle Rd. Rear return section has been omitted thereby reducing significantly the im- pact of the development on the adjoining cottages.
“The basement holds 46 car-parking spaces. This is not considered to be of such number that it would give rise to traffic hazard.
The council granted plan- ning permission, subject to 39 conditions including that the developers contribute €217,000.