This article is from page 5 of the 2007-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 5 JPG
THE Sisters of Mercy in Lahinch have lodged a planning objection against what they describe as a “con- crete jungle” proposal for the north Clare coastal village.
In the plan, Brendan O’Doherty, Patrick Montgomery, Paul Mont- gomery and John McInerney plan to develop 114 residential units, to in- clude a number of holiday homes.
In their objection, the Sisters state, “While we are not opposed to devel- opment in Lahinch, we do believe that a development of this size and nature is not in keeping with the character of the village.
“This is a huge development of over 100 homes, including apartment blocks, duplexes and a variety of house styles, and one entrance with the potential to generate over 200 ve- hicles poses a serious danger to us, other traffic using Station Road and eee COMETS
“We also have serious concerns with regard to the visual impact of this development. As it is directly opposite our house, we will be look- ing at a ‘concrete jungle’.
“We would also ask you to look at this development in light of the se- rious issues of anti-social behaviour on Station Road and the fact that the services to Lahinch including sew- age, water supply and electricity are seriously over-stretched.”
In her Toloysab hwy (eyem Marie O’Donoghue claims that “in the main, Lahinch permanent residents are not at all adverse to development. It is the bread and butter on which a Seaside resort thrives. However, cur- rent development is doing nothing for the village apart from creating a ghost town, which is a lot less attrac- tive to holiday-makers than it was 20 years ago.”
Michael and Maria Vaughan of Vaughan Lodge Hotel have also ex- pressed their opposition against the evee
They state, “The transient popula- tion of summer house-owners creates massive pressure on scarce resources for a period of 10 weeks in summer and leaves the village without com- munity for long periods in the win- oe
A decision on the application is due later this month.