This article is from page 19 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 19 JPG
MEMBERS of Clare County Coun- cil last night agreed to extend the town boundary of Shannon to facili- tate the expansion of the town.
County manager Alec Fleming rec- ommended the extension apart from the inclusion of a townland, Clon- money West, in anticipation of the population of Shannon and its envi- rons tripling by 2011.
Mr Fleming laid out the grounds cited for the extension in a document that went before the council’s June meeting in Inagh.
The document is to also go be- fore the members of Shannon ‘Town Council.
Mr Fleming said that the residents of Shannon town and its environs were to be brought under a single ad- ministration with devoted electoral representation for all communities within the expanded town.
The proposed expanded town would be better able to deal adminis- tratively with the future development of the town.
He said that Shannon town resi- dents had no significant input into the running of the affairs of Shan-
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Mr Fleming also stated that an expanded Shannon town would be better able to promote the social, economic, sporting and cultural fa- cilities and amenities and integrated os ATA CCL IB UOTE A OLoeEs Bote B
The document anticipates that the lands in the extension area could provide an additional 3,027 housing units that would satisfy the primary demand for accommodation in Shan- non town during the life of the cur- rent plan and to 2020.
However, Mr Fleming has ruled out an extension into the townland of
Clonmoney West.
He said: “Given the existing capac- ity of the zoned lands within Shan- non town, there would appear to be no valid reasons for the extension of Shannon town into such townlands save for the possible addition of 172 acres to the north.
“The incorporation of the town- lands into Shannon town would create unsustainable expectations amongst property owners that such areas would be identified for future short to medium term development.
“The development of these lands would be contrary to national poli-
cies and should be retained for agri- cultural and rural type uses.
Mr Fleming has conceded the as- sessment had not taken into account the financial consequences of the re- allocation of rates or capital contribu- tion income to the respective parties and the availability of transportation and infrastructural services.
He added that these issues were critical to the success or failure of the application and required more detailed information. But he rec- ommended the boundary extension apart from the Clonmoney West sec- won