This article is from page 2 of the 2007-06-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
CLARE County Council has refused planning permission for contentious plans to establish a “casino-style” business in Shannon.
Former Clare hurling captain, Bri- an Lohan and incoming Clare mayor, Cllr. Patricia McCarthy (Ind) had called the plans into question.
An observation submitted on be- half of the double All-Ireland win- ning hurler claims that the proposed “new use is incompatible with the designated office and retail use of devRmolUODCennsToaae
The submission pointed out that Mr Lohan was occupying the “EBS
financial services and Brian Lohan Auctioneering’ businesses at the ground floor of the proposed club.
The submission claimed that the club would not create desirable syn- ergies and also, would introduce un- desirable congregations of people in the vicinity of Mr Lohan’s property therefore damaging his business and other businesses around.
In her submission, Cllr. McCarthy claimed that the “the use of the term ‘members club’ without defining e1- ther the membership, their role or proposed activities is an attempt at subterfuge and further is plainly also an attempt to circumvent the rights of the public to know what the ulti-
mate function and activities of the development is.
“The proposed development lacks clarity and is open to a number of different interpretations. The pro- posed development as submitted by reason of lacking in specifics cannot be judged or its potential effect on the surrounding area determined.”
Developer, John O’Donovan re- vealed that the club would contain a number of adult amusement ma- chines and live card tables super- vised by a club director.
He stated, “This club’s primary function is to attract the large tour- ist base in the area and especially an American market that are familiar
and look for this type of adult en- tertainment and can only be a great benefit to tourism in the Shannon region.”
However, the council refused plan- ning permission having regard to the nature of the proposed development and character of the surrounding area. It ruled that the proposal would reduce the attractiveness of the area and would impact negatively on the residential amenities of the adjacent properties.
The council also ruled that the loca- tion of the proposed facility outside Shannon would materially contra- vene the South-East Clare Develop- ment Plan.