This article is from page 4 of the 2006-05-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE Diocese of Killaloe has been forced by Clare County Council into drawing up a masterplan for 85 acres of land in Ennis that could net the diocese a massive €30 million windfall.
Last night (Monday) Clare County Council voted unanimously to rezone 85 acres of land at Ashline to facilitate the relocation of Ennis National School.
The diocese proposes to construct 590 houses which would place a €150 million value on the development.
However, a diocesan spokesman confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that the diocese was forced by the council to draw up the tentative masterplan, as part of a proposal to relocate Ennis National School.
The diocese originally lodged a submission to rezone a small parcel of the land for ‘community use’ to allow the relocation of the school.
But, as the spokesman explained, “In order for the proposal to be evaluated, the council demanded that a masterplan be drawn up in relation to what would ultimately happen with all the lands owned by the diocese, before deciding on the school issue.”
Local auctioneer, Philip O’Reilly of Property Partners said last night that the rezoning would place a €30 million value on the diocesan property, based on a cost of €55,000 per site.
The masterplan has yet to be published.
However, The Clare People understands that the diocese’s consultants have told the council that the lands are better suited for high density housing than the three areas zoned for such at Roslevan, the Lahinch Road area and Clarecastle.
Along with 590 homes, the Diocese also proposes the development of sheltered housing for Cahercalla Hospital.
The proposal will allow the creation of distinct residential sub-areas, while community facilities will be placed at the centre of the area. The diocese also proposed a park area to separate the new development from existing housing.
They added that the proposal is also intended to facilitate the redevelopment of Ennis National School into a three-stream, 24 class school with the capacity for 707 students and a staff of 45.
The masterplan further proposes a commercial development to the entrance of the area that would be visible from the N68 roundabout.
The development of the lands is to be carried out in four phases over a 21-year period, with the first phase commencing in 2007-09 with the construction of the school.