This article is from page 21 of the 2012-09-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
THE Ennis Town Manager has defended Ennis Town Council’s record of investment in amenity facilities following criticisms over the Post Office Field.
Ger Dollard was speaking yesterday in response to comments made Cllr James Breen (Ind). In a motion tabled at the September meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral area, Cllr Breen called on the council and the county manager “to take immediate steps to develop the Post Office Field at Bank Place and Bindon Street into a community area”.
Cllr Breen said the field is a “marvelous amenity” in the heart of the town that has been underused and underdeveloped for decades.
In his response, town clerk Leonard Cleary stated that the Post Office Field is a major natural resource for the town centre. “It is rich in wildlife and natural heritage. It offers significant potential for appropriate development. Previously the resource was considered as a proposed site for series of different functions. The issue of resources is key in moving any project forward. The Ennis Hub Town Strategy is currently being drafted by Ennis Town Council after considerable community consultation as part of the Ennis 2020 visioning exercise with University of Limerick,” he said.
“The hub strategy indicates strong support for the development of the post office field as an amenity area. It also presents this type of project as an opportunity for the town to re-orientate towards the great River Fergus resource, which bounds the field. A key challenge in implementing this action in the hub strategy regarding the post office field relates to the available financial resources. Any future proposals for the Post Office Field will in the first instance need to be considered by the elected members of Ennis Town Council.”
The field had been put forward as the site for a new library but the project was abandoned due to a lack of funding.
Mr Dollard said a consensus should be established about the future of the field. However he warned that it would be “a number of years before we have funds available to use”.
Cllr Breen said such a timescale was “unacceptable”, adding that it did not “argue” well for what Ennis Town Council had been doing at times when resources were available for the development of the field.
Mr Dollard said the Council invested hugely in amenities in Ennis, citing the money spent on Lees Road and Tim Smyth Park.
Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea told the meeting that field had only come into the ownership of the council within the last 10 years.