This article is from page 4 of the 2008-10-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
RESIDENTS of an entire terrace in Ennis have taken the unusual step of seeking to have their homes zoned for commercial development to in- crease their market value.
The owners of 33 homes along Steele’s Terrace, opposite the court- house and Fairgreen, have lodged a submission with Clare County Coun- cil to have their homes rezoned to
allow small-scale commercial activ- ity take place and have employed a planning consultant to advance their case.
In a comprehensive submission, the council has been told that when Steele’s Terrace was originally zoned for residential purposes, the houses were occupied by indigenous fami- Wty
This is not the case today as most of the houses are rented to transient
occupiers so the need to retain resi- dential usage for families is not as great. A small number of the houses are used as medical offices since the early 1990s.
“The terrace is now on the town- side of a substantial retail land use at Sheil’s and beside prime land at Kelly’s corner which will be redevel- oped for commercial purposes. It is also opposite the courthouse, which has been redeveloped.
‘The general pattern of the develop- ment has changed substantially over the last number of years and there is a local demand for small offices for solicitors, accountants similar to Bindon Street.
‘The houses in Steele’s Terrace are old and were built to different resi- dential expectations. They cannot compete with modern purpose built residential acccommodation from the point of view of bedroom space, toilet accommodation, general stor- age and living space.
‘The terrace is part of the archi- tectural heritage of the town and its use for office/residential accommo- dation would not adversely impact on this designation. A similar situa- tion obtains in Bindon Street and the character of the street has not been compromised by its commercial land use.
The planner’s report on the rezon- ing application states that “rezoning to permit commercial uses would in effect be extending the town centre along a 300 metre finger of develop- ment fronting the Gort Road. The draft plan has already rezoned two terraces on Carmody Street to permit commercial uses suited to this type of property”’.
The report concludes that the ter- race be retained for predominantly residential use.
SW elemnterDme(crersCoIROemseomerrlncu ens be made by members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.