This article is from page 55 of the 2006-01-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 55 JPG
KINVARA could be on the verge of a major property boom over the next five years, as plans to construct a new sewage scheme in the town is expected to be given the green light over the next few weeks.
The sewage scheme could open the way for a number of new housing developments to take place in the town where property is already in high demand.
The announcement follows years of campaigning for a scheme in the south Galway area, where a reported 70,000 gallons of effluent is being dumped into the bay on a daily basis.
The project, with an estimated cost of several millions of euro, should get the go-ahead this month.
However, it may take as long as three years after the construction of the sewage system for the pollution problems to be rectified in Kinvara.
The local community council have campaigned for the scheme for years, amid fears that pubs and restaurants there were losing customers because of the smell from the raw effluent being dumped into the bay.
Meanwhile, Clare TD Pat Breen (FG) has hit out at the government over the speed at which sewerage schemes in the county are being processed.
Speaking in the Dail before the Christmas break up, he slammed the government inaction on the schemes.
“The delay in the completion of a number of sewage schemes in County Clare, among them the Scariff, Feakle, Quilty-Mullagh, Labasheeda, Cooraclare and Carrigaholt schemes, is part of a trend in rural Ireland where development grinds to a halt, home builders are put in limbo and everything remains at a planning stage because of the failure by the government to install a sense of urgency in such projects,” he said.
Deputy Breen went on to criticise the speed at which projects which are currently under construction in the county are making. According to Deputy Breen there are ten projects, including one in Ennis town, which are currently behind schedule.