This article is from page 18 of the 2012-01-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THE long-awaited development of a new junction at Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon could be jeopardy following the shock announcement by Clare County Council yesterday that they will have to fund an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before any work can take place.
This means that any progress at the site will be delayed by at least 12 months and € 100,000 will have to be found to finance the EIS. It is unclear where the € 100,000 will come from as Clare County Council do not have the money and the National Roads Authority (NRA) generally do not fund a project until after it has passed through the planning stage.
The decision to voluntarily complete an EIS was made, according to senior council engineer Tom Tiernan, because the local authority felt certain that groups opposed to the destruction of the listed building at Blake’s Corner would object to An Bord Pleanála should Clare County Council grant Part 8 planning permission for the site without a complete EIS.
A similar objection was used by a number of surfing organisation to delay the construction of a new pier at Doolin last year.
“There is no point in us doing this and then being told down the line that we need to go for EIS. This is terribly disappointing but I think that in the long run this will be the shortest route,” said Mr Tiernan
“The NRA have stated very clearly to me that they are committed to this project. But their commitment does not translate into money in any way until a time that you have all the approvals that are required.
“I would sincerely hope that they can allocate money [for the EIS], they are aware that this is a very important and controversial project and something that needs to be pushed forward as soon as possible.”
According to one local councillor, more than 100 local jobs could be lost if the scheme at the junction is not sorted out soon.
“I am stunned that this has happened. Common sense has gone out the window,” said Cllr Bill Slattery (FG).
“We have a factory in Deerpark which employs 100 people. If this isn’t fixed, I know from speaking to the owner of this factory, they will be forced to pull out of Ennistymon.”
Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) said that he was “absolutely stunned” by yesterday’s development and said that it was the latest is a list of delays for the project.