A PRIVATE operator has lodged plans for park and ride facilities in Doolin and Liscannor to serve the €31.5 million visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher.
A similar proposal for Liscannor by the Mermaid Partnership was withdrawn after locals railed against the accompanying retail element.
Now Atlantis Development has lodged plans for a park and ride at Doolin and Liscannor.
The company is seeking to put in place 385 parking spaces along with spaces for 10 buses in Liscannor. In Doolin, the company plans to put in place 120 parking spaces along with spaces for three shuttle buses.
The planning documents lodged with the council list John Declan Flanagan as a director of Atlantis Development.
Mr Flanagan also spearheaded the ill-fated Mermaid Partnership bid.
Cllr Martin Conway (FG), of north Clare, welcomed Atlantis Develop- ment’s move.
“IT would welcome park and ride as a standalone development in order to deal with the traffic congestion that is evident around the cliffs.
‘The charge that is imposed by the developers may prove cost effective for the consumers as it costs €8 at
the cliffs at the moment.
‘Any competition is healthy and the park and ride could result in a spin- off for the local communities, where people may stay overnight in Liscan- nor and Doolin rather than using the cliffs as a stopping off point between Kerry and Galway.”
Cllr Conway said that he very much welcomed the applications, as long as they were not conditional on them being accompanied by shops.
Last month, the Mermaid Partner- ship withdrew €15 million plans 24 hours prior to an anticipated deci- sion.
Applications are usually withdrawn at the last minute in this way when developers are told informally that the application looks set to be re- GU oLem
The proposal was facing wide- spread opposition in Liscannor, which suffered a population loss in the most recent Census.
The developers had also made ef- forts to allay the concerns of locals by reducing the size of the plan.
Last year, the Mermaid Partner- ship lodged a proposal for the park and ride facility that also included a major retail component with a total of 6,322 sq metres.
The applicants scaled back the re- tail component by almost two-thirds but continued to face opposition.