This article is from page 12 of the 2009-08-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
SHANNON residents will present Clare County Council with a peti- tion against the closure of a number of walkways around Shannon town as aresult of a new housing develop- ment being undertaken by the local authority.
More than 300 local residents have already signed the petition, which will also be accompanied by dozens of individual protest letters against WeToMOCoaVod Coy oyee torn
The local group claims that the fencing could obstruct the emergen- cy services from reaching the area and was erected without any prior notice from the contractors or Clare County Council.
“We were under the impression that this development was not going to go ahead because of the recession but we woke up one day and work had already started. All the fencing went up overnight and the whole area is penned in. It is very restrictive steel fencing and is around the whole development,’ said local resident Nicole Murphy.
“The fact that this fencing was up for a week and a half before we got any official notification about it is very worrying. Are we going to come home some day and find that our water or electricity has also been cut off without any notice?”
The petition is the result of a mass meeting which was held in the area last Tuesday. Another meeting will take place this weekend to decide the next step in the local groups opposi- tion to the development.
According to the group, the devel- opment will remove one of Shan- non’s few remaining green areas. In addition, they claim that a fully serv- iced site located nearby by would be cheaper and less disruptive for the lo- oF NMe- Luin eLoywinanKomeloa(od le) 0p
The group has also expressed its disappointment with some of their local politicians, who they feel went back on their word by failing to op- pose the development at the planning SR eLon
“This 1s one of the last green areas in all of Shannon and they want to
build all of these houses on it – right on our doorstep,’ continued Ms Mur- phy.
“We were told by some of our local election candidates that they would stand by us on this issue and they haven’t done that. I won’t say who I am talking about but the people know themselves.”