This article is from page 12 of the 2006-05-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
ENNIS’ Mayor, Cllr Frankie Neylon this week defended the town council decision to erect a 10 ft high wall between a new council estate and a private housing development in Ennis.
At the April meeting, councillors approved the plan to build a €10 million social and affordable housing scheme on lands formerly owned by the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh. As part of the development, the local authority has acceded to demands by the residents of the private estate, Bishop’s Court to erect a 10 ft high wall around their estate.
The residents association of Bishop’s Court made the demand “to ensure that our estate is a safe place to live in, and that preventative measures are put in place to reduce the fear of crime”.
However, the National Housing Association, Threshold, expressed concern over the move to erect the 10 ft high wall. A spokesman said: “This should be about building communities, not separating them. This is reminiscent of gated communities you come across in South Africa. The wall itself come become a source of tension. It is seen as a solution to a problem that there isn’t any evidence for.”
However, Cllr Neylon told The Clare People : “The wall is necessary to prevent anti-social behaviour. It is there for the benefit of both residents of the new estate and residents of Bishop’s Court.”
Cllr Neylon praised the contribution of the residents of Bishop’s Court. He said: “We could see the problem for the residents of Bishop’s Court. I met them on a number of occasions and they asked for very little. They also stressed that they supported the council providing social housing in Ennis.
“I believe that the wall is necessary and part of it was already part of plans drawn up by the council.”
The residents also demanded that the boundary wall between their estate and the Bishop’s Westbourne residence be increased to the 10ft height to prevent a growing trespass problem. However, the Diocese refused to sanction the wall. According to a council memo, the Diocesan office said that there isn’t a trespass problem of any significance at present.
The Diocese stated that if in future, trespass becomes a problem, the Diocese would be amenable to revisiting the situation. As the proposed wall lies outside the proposed development site, the Department of the Environment, according to the council, “was very clear” on the issue – “there is no way to justify expenditure in private property outside the site.
In its submission, the Bishop’s Court Residents Association confirmed their support for the provision of social housing in Ennis.