This article is from page 18 of the 2006-07-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
AN Bord Pleanála has upheld the decision of Clare County Council to refuse planning permission for contentious plans to convert the Convent of Mercy in Ennistymon into an apartment complex.
Two Ennistymon schools warned that school-childrens’ health would be put at risk if the plan proceeded. Plans were lodged for the proposal by Tomas Fitzgerald of Banna Developments in 2004.
However, the plan provoked strong opposition from local schools. The boards of management of both Scoil Mhuire, Convent of Mercy and the Ennistymon Convent Primary School told the council if the plan proceeded, it would pose a safety threat to the children attending the schools.
The council refused planning on a number of grounds and in response, Banna Developments lodged an appeal.
In the inspector’s assessment, he said that the “proposed development of apartment units in what effectively comprises a dilapidated though prominent landmark building in the town, and ensuring its rehabilitation and reuse is both appropriate and is to be welcomed . . .
“However, I am extremely concerned with the proposal to access the site via the existing narrow access road, which I consider is of inadequate carriageway width to serve the scheme, and which includes a narrow footpath.”
The inspector found that the pathway was currently inadequate to accommodate the schoolchildren which used this route daily to access the adjacent schools at the western end of the road.
“Moreover, I am not satisfied that the applicant is in a position to upgrade and widen this road, requiring lands outside the area of the subject site – certainly the applicant has not proposed this option, notwithstanding that extensive concerns regarding road access expressed by the Planning Authority during its determination of the application.
The board upheld the recommendation of the inspector and refused planning permission, stating that the proposal “is to be accessed from the Town Centre and the N67 Lahinch Road by a laneway which is considered currently to be of inadequate width and alignment to facilitate the likely additional traffic movements that will be generated by the proposed development”.
The board ruled: “This access road also serves two schools in immediate proximity to the proposed development.
“It is considered, on the basis of the submissions made in connection with the planning application and the appeal, that the applicant is not in a position to ensure the necessary upgrading and widening of this access road to facilitate the proposed development.”