This article is from page 67 of the 2008-10-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 67 JPG
CUSACK Park will remain the headquarters of Clare GAA for the forseeable future after a proposal to rezone land there was blocked by Ennis Town Council.
Meeting last Wednesday to discuss the draft Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan, councillors voted unanimously against rezoning the town centre site for commercial pur- OO sene
The Aisling Chiosoig Partnership had sought to purchase the ground from the Clare County Board and re- develop it as a commercial centre in return for the construction of a new stadium and adjoining facilities.
The way was left open, however, for future rezoning on the condition that an alternative site be found for
the proposed stadium.
An original site identified on the Quin Road was not considered vi- able because the land hes on a flood enue
The decision came after two days of lengthy discussions between coun- cillors and planners.
Councillors met first on Tuesday evening at a private workshop session to wade through the 124 submissions received on the draft version of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.
The most high profile of which concerned the proposal to rezone Cusack Park.
Later on Tuesday night, at a special meeting of Ennis Town Council or- ganised to formally pass the Draft Plan, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said, that, following a vote taken at
the workshop, the decision had been taken not to rezone Cusack Park.
Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Consi- dine (FF), proposed adjourning the meeting, until Wednesday, so equal consideration could be given to other submissions contained in the manag- er’s report.
Councillors were warned _ that agreement on the plan had to be reached before Thursday so notices could appear in local media the fol- lowing week. Cllr Neylon, supported by Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) op- posed the adjournment. Cllr Neylon said the process was being rushed because the original timetable had not been adhered to.
A vote of 3-2 prevailed in favour of adjourning the meeting until Wednesday night.
The next night, Wednesday and
following another private workshop, Cllr Neylon proposed that Cusack Park’s status “remain as 1s” until de- velopers identified a suitable site for a new stadium.
Cllr Considine put forward the pro- posal that the draft plan be accepted by the council. It was passed on a unanimous vote.
The decision to halt the process will be seen as a blow by members of the local business community. Ennis Chamber of Commerce had supported the proposal, saying that the development would have signifi- cantly increased commercial activity in Ennis.
According to the Aisling Chiosdig partnership, 1,000 new jobs would have been created on completion of the project and another 500 in con- struction.