Month: July 2011

MEMBERS of the public in Ennis support pedestrianisation “in some sort or other” a new report about the future development of the town has found.

The findings of Ennis 20/20 – People, Place, Potential – A report on the Community Visioning Exercise – was presented by Dr Chris McInerney of the University of Limerick at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council.

The main objective of the project was to support the development of a participatory plan for Ennis as a hub town in line with the National Spatial Strategy. The project was supported by the University of Limerick, Ennis Town Council and the Clare Active Citizenship Network.

The opinions of over 300 people were canvassed including those of 30 young people and the opinions of 180 people in Dunnes Stores on a Thursday evening and Saturday morning.

The report presents perspectives on what local people think Ennis will look and feel like in 2020; the strengths and assets on which it can build; how the image of Ennis might be improved and how Ennis might be developed further as an inclusive town. The report found that there is a “strong emphasis on pedestrianisation” with people also wanting an “enhanced relationship between the town and the River Fergus”.

In a section focusing on how improved infrastructure can enhance Ennis, the report found, “The related theme of pedestrianisation was undoubtedly one of the most prominent issues to be raised with all of those mentioned it advocating pedestrianisation of some sort or other, ranging from gradual or partial pedestrianisation to an all out approach taking in all of the town centre.”

Parking also emerged as a key concern for people in Ennis. The report states, “The suggestions ranged from reducing parking charges to designating certain days for free parking to help to stimulate retail sales.”

In a section on Ennis’ Economic Development, “reducing costs to business was also cited as an important factor in stimulating economic activity”.

Dr McInerney told the meeting that there was “divergence of views” on how retail development should proceed in Ennis.

The report states, “On one hand some participants favoured the introduction of large retails outlets as a means of preventing leakage of spending to Limerick and Galway. By contrast, other participants favoured the prioritisation of support for locally-owned specialty shops that would have a capacity to sell local produce, including the development of the town’s market area.”

The public also suggested “friendlier traffic wardens” and “street ambassadors and volountary town guides to assist tourists”.

In the area of ‘Building Cooperation’, the report found that some people are in favour of a “conscious effort” to support integration.

The report adds, “However, for others, further integration was not a priority, emphasis being placed instead on adjusting/improving behaviour, both amongst newly arriving groups and amongst the town’s Traveller population.”

ICARUS will not be swooping down to settle in Clarecastle despite a late bid to have the well known piece of sculpture moved to a new home.

In a motion submitted to yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) called on the Council to “consider relocating the Icarus sculpture to the centre of the Clareabbey roundabout”.

Cllr Howard told the meeting that the statue would be a “lovely gateway” to Ennis if it was moved to Clareabbey.

Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said he would like to see the 11-tonne statue brought back to the centre of Ennis rather than Clarecastle.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) called for a vote on the matter, urging the Council to install the statue at the Clareabbey roundabout.

However, in his response, town clerk Eddie Power stated that a site on the N85 western relief road had been chosen as a new location. He explained that design work on a new base for the statue had already started at the Rocky Road roundabout. He told the meeting that € 20,000 has already been committed to the project.

Town manager Ger Dollard said the Council was involved in three major sculpture projects – the Information Age Sculpture at Clon Road; Icarus and its replacement piece in the Market – a sculpture of two farmers and a cow.

He said it was “too late in the day” for a new location for Icarus. “The horse has already bolted in that re- spect,” he added.

The Icarus statue was designed by the renowned Irish sculptor John Behan. It was gifted to Ennis Town Council by the former Shannonbased company Guinness Peat Aviation in 1990 to mark the town’s 750 year anniversary.

Behan titled his work Daedalus though it became known locally as Icarus.

The sculpture had occupied a place on the roundabout at the heart of the market area of the town prior to its removal in December 2006.

CLARE’S newest sporting heroes will return to Shannon, Sixmilebridge and to Inagh later this evening for a homecoming which should rival anything seen in the county for the last decade. Double Special Olympic silver medal winner, Ciara O’Loughlin, and silver medal winner Michael Neville will touch down in Dublin with the rest of the Irish team just before 1pm today.

Ciara won the silver medal in the shot putt and the 4×100 metre relay while Michael, from Sixmilebridge, was part of Ireland silver medal winning soccer team.

“We’re just so proud,” Ciara’s father Malachy told The Clare People

A GOOD Samaritan who slowed down when he saw what he believed to be a late night traffic accident was robbed for his trouble near Ardnacrusha recently. The driver saw a car across the road and a man limping towards the front of the car. There were two other men lying on the grass at the side of the road.

As he slowed down the ‘injured men’ got up and attacked the driver of the car, forcing him to open his door, threatened him with a knife and robbed him of € 400. He was saved possible further injury and loss when an oncoming car prompted the thieves to make their getaway. Gardaí are appealing for potential witnesses or anyone who may have seen the thieves on the morning of June 25th at Carmody’s Cross.

A TOTAL of 11,892 dwellings in Clare are currently not being lived in, a figure which equates to over a fifth of the entire housing stock in the county.

The figure was made public with the release of prelimenary Census 2011 findings which recorded the number of vacant residences, while at the same time revealing a rise in the population of the county by some 5.5 per cent.

There are now 116,885 people living in the county, only the second time in 110 years that the county’s population has broken the 110,000 barrier.

The Census figures reveal that the number of new housing stock in Clare increased by 14 per cent in between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, which means that Clare house builds ran ahead of the national average of 13.3 per cent.

However, the breakdown of these figures have also revealed that this in housing numbers has contributed to a sharper increase in the number of vacant dwellings around the county.

The vacancy rate in Clare is now running at nearly 22 per cent, eight points higher than the national average of 14.7 per cent, with the western seaboard being the worst part of the county affected.

A map of the county produced by the CSO shows that vacancy rates in west and north Clare are now running at over 25 per cent, startling figures that back up claims made to The Clare People by a number of Census enumerators from their experiences on the ground back in April.

Only seven other counties have higher rates of vacant housing than Clare, the reason being traced back to the building boom that saw a proliferation of holiday homes during the Celtic Tiger years and the special seaside resort status given to Kilkee and Lahinch by the Rainbow Coalition in the 1990s.