This article is from page 12 of the 2005-08-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
LOCAL residents in Gaurus, on the outskirts of Ennis, have railed against plans to construct a €40 million housing development in the area.
Earlier this year, William McGrath and Frank Stackpoole lodged plans to construct 132 semi-detached, 70 terraced and seven detached homes in the Gaurus area, which is located in the Doora-Barefield parish.
However, following a public meet- ing at the Fahy Hall, the residents have come together to lodge a stri-
dent objection against the plan.
They state: “The density of hous- ing proposed for this development is inappropriate to an edge of town location, where sufficient land has been zoned to allow for sustainable growth in the area for the next 10 years.
“A high density development in this area would lead to the destruc- tion of the residential amenities cur- rently being enjoyed by home owners in the area.
“The land is zoned as ‘other settle- ment land’ where any development should by definition “conserve and
enhance the quality and character of the area, to protect residential amen- ity and allow for development appro- priate to the sustainable growth of the settlement.
“The proposed high density de- velopment would contravene this requirement in a rural area charac- terised by low density development and single dwellings.
‘All houses on this road are cur- rently bungalows or dormer. The proposed site of two-storey houses are out of character with the area and in the case of single dwellings bor- dering the proposed development,
will lead to the destruction of their privacy.
“The development is proposed on land immediately beside a lake and its immediate surroundings are rural in nature. A housing development of this size would likely have a negative impact on the environment/wildlife/ plantlife in the vicinity. Immediately adjacent to a Special Area of Con- servation, the development may pose an ecological risk to this area, espe- cially given the increase in housing developments close by and proposed housing developments already.
“The local county road network
is defective in width, alignment and junction standard to service a de- velopment of this scale. Access to the Ennis by-pass will be via Gau- rus Bridge, already a_ bottle-neck and Ballymacahill Cross, traversing three junctions with sub-standard sight-lines. Access to the Quin road is via a dangerous cross-road with a high accident rate due to poor vis- ibility and excessive speed
The developers have scaled down their proposal in response to a fur- ther information request and a deci- sion is expected on the application JE TKomaavtcwmastevelsen