This article is from page 18 of the 2012-06-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
A DECISION on a proposed € 34 million retail park on the outskirts of Ennis is not expected to made for a number of weeks.
An Bord Pleanála were due to make a decision yesterday on the proposed retail development at the Clare Road / Tobertascáin. However it emerged on Monday evening that the decision will not be ready for a number of weeks.
Michael Lynch Ltd had sought permission for the (1) Demolition of all structures on site including 5 residential units, office block and all ancillary buildings; (2) Provision of a public plaza fronting on to the Limerick Road including both soft and hard landscaping; (3) A retail development including a food store incorporating customer restaurant and cafe, off licence sales area, dot com area and storage service area. (4) Separate ancillary two-storey retail and office block, a standalone two-storey office block, 610 parking spaces, provision for cycle parking, trolley bays and vehicular access to and from the Tobarteascain Road.
The developers had said the project would create 300 jobs in construction and between 180 and 200 permanent jobs. However objectors, including town centre businesses, argued that the development would have a “significantly detrimental effect on town centre retail” and lead to a “decreased viability of the town centre”.
In their submissions both Ennis Chamber and Ennis Development Forum, along with other street associations in the town, outlined their concerns for the proposed development. Among the concerns was the statistical data on which the application is based, justifying the need for significant additional retail space, is out of date given the changing eco- nomic circumstances and that the cnsus of population for Clare which shows a very significant slowdown in the level of population growth.
CEO of Ennis Chamber, Rita Mc Inerney said, “We are very concerned that this proposal is located on a flood plain area designated as a flood risk A, the most at-risk category. Given the very serious history of flooding in Ennis, we cannot accept the suggestion that the development could proceed until the detailed flood studies recommended by the OPW have been carried out indicating that flood risk can be overcome and these studies have not been carried out to date.”
A spokesperson for the Ennis Development Forum added: “All of the evidence indicates a 25 per cent drop at least in retail expenditure since 2008. Therefore we feel that granting permission for the proposal will put an end to Ennis town centre as a viable retail area.”