This article is from page 29 of the 2007-07-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
BORD na gCon says that Meelick residents should not be overly dis- appointed about the decision not to go ahead with the €15 million new ereyhound racing stadium in their area.
CEO of the Greyhound Board, Adrian Neilan said that the decision “moves the project a few miles up the road. But what has to be stressed 1s that this will be a Mecca for people who go racing. It will be a fantastic ee usa ae
The CEO said that the new stadium – which is now to be located at the old Limerick racecourse site – will still be a boost for Meelick in terms
of jobs and spin-off business from tom bee. @
The problem with the Meelick site, he said. Was that it would be land- locked until 2010 when the new road connection will be complete. “Until then we couldn’t even get construc- tion machinery in to get started. It was a very long delay.”
It’s just over a year since it was an- nounced that Meelick was to get the new stadium on a site near the Two Mile Inn.
The stadium design incorporated bar and restaurant facilities and a play area for children.
Subsequently, when the board ap- plied to Clare Country Council for planning permission, the local au-
thority asked for further informa- nto
It became clear at that stage that there would be a number of difficul- ties with the Meelick site.
But local councillor, Cathal Crowe said he is “bitterly disappointed. I recently organised a meeting in En- nis where local landowners, council road engineers and plunging staff and the Clare county manager were present. The non-attendance of a Bord na gCon official at this meet- ing signified to me that they had lost interest in the Lansdowne site. Many of the obstacles to the development of the stadium were discussed in depth at this meeting and I left in an optimistic mood that plans could be
progressed.
Cllr Crowe added that he believed that the location would not impede on the rural character of Meelick in TOA E NA
“Road frontage on the main Limer- ick – Ennis dual carriageway would have provided ease of access to the facility and a focal point for grey- hound enthusiasts from both Clare and Limerick to meet.
“The greyhound industry has thrived in recent years and one has only to look at the phenomenal suc- cess of the greyhound stadia at Cork, Shelbourne and Dundalk to see the scope of positive impact that this facility could have had on the local- ra A