This article is from page 4 of the 2011-10-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
TRADERS’ representatives have welcomed plans by Ennis Town Council to make safe the derelict McParlands building on Parnell Street.
Last week, Town Manager Ger Dollard revealed that the council intends to demolish and reconstruct a section of the building, which is deemed unsafe. Scaffolding was erected around the building two years ago. McParlands is home to a rare 16th century triple diamond Jacobean chimney and is believed to have been the oldest home in Ennis.
In a report on the matter, Mr Dollard said the council has been “extremely concerned regarding the McParlands property. He said works undertaken to date by the council had been done to render the building safe. He said, “It is clear however that the building has been deteriorating and the shortterm measures put in place do not render the structure safe on a long term basis.”
He added, “The council has taken detailed professional advice and inputs have also been made by the National Monuments Service regarding the conservation of the property.”
It has been estimated that the cost of conserving the privately-owned property will cost the council around € 170,000. Mr Dollard said last week that work on the building must be completed by the end of November in order for the council to fully avail of an € 85,000 grant from the Department of the Environment.
Speaking yesterday, Noreen Twomey Walsh of the Parnell Street Trader’s Association said businesses in the area are happy that the issue is finally being resolved. She explained, “We feel as traders that it gives a very un-sightly appearance to the street. We didn’t want to see it [scaffolding] there for that long. We’d be delighted to see it resolved. Any solution will be welcomed. We did know that there was a problem with funding.”
She added, “What concerned us as traders was that when people looked down the street and saw a building site, they wouldn’t come down. It was preventing some people from going down the street.”
Ms Twomey Walsh also acknowledged that the presence of scaffolding on one of the town centre’s main street also represented a serious health and safety issue.