This article is from page 8 of the 2007-11-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
PLANS for a €10 million retail de- velopment for Miltown Malbay has come under fire.
Currently, Clare County Council is adjudicating a planning application by John Jones to construct a super- market, seven retail units, offices, 18 apartments and 148 car-parking Spaces on the Ennis Road leading into the village.
In the first two to three years of operation the venture is expected to create 100 jobs. However, business interests in the village have railed against the proposal.
Patrick Boland, who is the owner of five retail units on the Ennistymon Road has told the council in an ob- jection that “the scale of the project is so large that it threatens the exist- ing business ecology of the town”’.
He stated, “This development would constitute a new town cen- tre. It is on the scale and design of a modern shopping centre suitable for a large town or city but is not com- patible with a village.
“It is on the outskirts of the town, on a mainly residential street and would cause the centre of business and trade to shift away from the main Street.
‘The attraction to tourists of a bus- tling village with traditional shop fronts and small individually owned businesses would be lost.
“Currently, the shops in Miltown are owned and run by different families. Historically, this pattern of ownership and trade has sustained the economic and community life of small villages and towns in Ireland. This development threatens that d1- versity of ownership.”
Donnan Meade of the Mace Shop on the Main Street claims that the proposal “could take the soul out of the village with nothing left on the main street but closed businesses and properties. This is in nobody’s inter- est”.
Claiming that the proposal could herald the death-knell of new busi- nesses along Main Street, Mr Meade said, “I understand that there would be a short-term benefit to the com- munity during the construction of the proposal but over the course of time, it will have a negative impact on the community at large.
He added: “I am not against devel- opment, but the sheer scale of this particular one is daunting and I feel that Miltown could regret such a de- velopment over the medium to long term.”
A decision is due later this month.