This article is from page 10 of the 2010-01-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
CLARE will be the loser in matters of development consideration in the mid-west unless councillors and council executives act, it was warned last night.
At the first meeting of the local au- thority’s elected representatives this year, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) called for all members to be provided with a copy of the draft strategic planning guide- lines for the mid-west, so that they would be aware of what is proposed.
“It proposes that each local author- ity plan would leave a green belt around Limerick and that Limerick should be the core area for retail ac- tivity in the region – subtitled, to hell with everywhere else,” Cllr Kelly told the meeting.
He said the draft also suggested that each part of the county should have its own centre of development “to the exclusion of other areas. It says that economic activities for north Clare should be ‘coast based’. What does that mean?”
The Fianna Fail councillor de- scribed the draft as “hostile to our region. Instead of the description ‘draught’ it should say ‘daft’.”
Cll Cathal Crowe (FF) said that Whenever development in the mid- west 1s raised, “we’re told about Lim- erick and this doughnut effect.” The phenomenon “hasn’t existed and it should never become part of our de- velopment mantra.” he said, adding that objections to retail development in places other than Limerick city are regularly raised on this basis.