This article is from page 15 of the 2006-08-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
THE Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) has secured planning permission for an additional 1,000 car-parking spaces, to cope with the spiraling passenger numbers going through Shannon.
The decision by Clare County Council to grant planning permission for the proposal follows continued growth at Shannon for the first half of 2006.
Figures provided by the Shannon Airport Authority show that 1.4 million passengers passed through Shannon.
The SAA expects 3.5 million to use the airport in 2006, compared to 3.3 million in 2005.
To date this year, the SAA has seen overall traffic increase by 20 per cent, with transatlantic traffic up by 13 per cent, European traffic up by 31 per cent and UK traffic up by 21 per cent.
Work is expected to commence shortly on the additional carparking spaces which will bring the overall number to 4,500 spaces at Shannon. In granting planning permission for the proposal, the council expressed its preference for the SAA to pursue a multi-storey car-park option.
The grant of permission for the car-parking comes one month ahead of the SAA commissioning the long-awaited €2.8 million sewage treatment works for the airport.
Planning was granted for the works in August 2004. The provision of the sewerage facilities is part of the €80 million the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) is budgeting to spend on capital infrastructure over the next 10 years, on drainage, water supply, additional car parking spaces and replacement of apron concrete.
The provision of the sewerage facilities will end the pumping of 100,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage into the Shannon estuary Special Area of Conservation (SAC) each year from the airport terminal.
However, the estimated 100,000 cubic metres was based upon two million passengers using Shannon – last year, 3.3 million passengers used the airport. The delay and the requirement to put in tertiary treatment as a result of an An Bord Pleanála decision in 2004 added €500,000 to the cost of the works. Work would have started on the project, only for An Taisce to appeal the council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála.