This article is from page 2 of the 2008-08-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
ENNIS town engineer Tom Tiernan believes an end may be in sight to the current embargo on planning permissions for new developments in the greater Ennis area.
Stating that firm conclusions will be shortly made on a proposed in- terim measure to allow new develop- ments proceed, Mr Tiernan said this would include an upgrading of exist- ing sewage treatment works to facili- tate new housing schemes.
The council’s new €75 million sew- age treatment plant is not expected to come on stream before 2012 and ap-
plications as small as 26 homes are now being refused as the network is at stretching point.
Speaking after the council refused planning permission to a ©50 million retail park at Skehanagh, Clarecas- tle last week, Mr Tiernan said, “We don’t want to be a situation where we can’t allow development, but that 1s where we are now and we want to change that.”
Asked how much developers will be asked to pay for the interim meas- ure, which is expected to cost over €1 million, Mr Tiernan responded, “Ideally, all of it.”
“The demand for new housing has
slumped to a low, but I hope that cir- cumstances will allow an upgrade of the Clonroadmore plant.”
He said that it was difficult to state how many new homes the upgrading works would accommodate and the options would be examined before the end of the year.
He said that Ennis development firm, Crystal Partners are in the process of tendering for the construc- tion of anew temporary sewage plant near Clarecastle which is expected to accommodate development in that part of the greater Ennis area.
Already, developers have written to the local authorities and councillors
warning that the economic effects of no developments being allowed in and around Ennis will be “wide- spread”.
‘Despite over ten years of unprece- dented development, the area is now being choked by the chronic lack of capacity in the wastewater treatment system,” they claimed.
‘All the developer contributions and funds raised from various serviced land initiatives have not financed the infrastructure that is required.
“This lack of treatment capacity and capacity in the pump station net- work have been ignored for far too oyna