This article is from page 8 of the 2007-05-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THE inadequate public sewerage in- frastructure in the greater Ennis area is beginning to halt residential devel- opment on the outskirts of the town.
Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council jointly refused plan- ning permission for a development that would have opened up lands at Bunnow, Doora, Skehanagh and Clar- eabbey for housing development.
The council refused to grant plan- ning permission to Gareth Kelly on
four grounds. One of these is that the council “is not satisfied that there is sufficient capacity for the existing Clareabbey treatment plant to ac- commodate the proposed develop- nates Laan
It is understood that a new €50 mil- lion plant may not be in place for two to three years and further planning applications may be refused, pending the completion of the new plant.
Mr Kelly had lodged plans seeking planning for a sewerage and water supply scheme to facilitate the devel-
opment of the lands 1n question.
The proposal was said to be “pre- mature, pending the completion of an integrated sewerage design scheme to serve the general locality”.
Mr Kelly applied to have a total of 150 acres of land in those areas re- zoned from low-density housing to residential/commercial and remove the flood risk designation as part of the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.
A further impediment to future housing growth around Ennis has
also been identified with the council refusing planning permission pend- ing the completion of a flood risk study of lands around Ennis.
The council pointed out that the proposed development encroaches on an area of land zoned as “flood risk” in the 2003 Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan- the role and future of which is under review at present.
The council also ruled that it is not satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated sufficient legal inter- est to enable him to carry out the de-
velopment and that the route of the proposed Quin Road to Skehanagh roundabout ‘link road’ is not in ac- cordance with part of the develop- ment plan.
The Department of the Environ- ment and the National Roads Au- thority (NRA) also raised concerns about the application.
The department stated that a major development in this low-lying coastal floodplain area could create a need for upgraded flood defences in the OUTRUN Kon