This article is from page 15 of the 2006-12-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
THE end of a long, historic era was marked at Shannon Airport yesterday when demolition of the old hostels got underway, to make way for an enlarged carpark.
The hostels were built in the 1960s and catered for overnight passengers, over the years. In the early days, staff at the airport stayed overnight in the hostels but this changed over the years as hotels and guesthouses were built and transport improved.
As a result, most of the hostels had, over the years, fallen into a state of disrepair. They are now being knocked, to facilitate the extension of the airport’s car park by 850 spaces.
Planning permission was granted by Clare County Council for the new car park last August and came on foot of growing passenger numbers at the airport. A record-breaking 3.3 million passengers passed through Shannon last year.
Shannon Airport spokesperson Claire McEnery confirmed that contractors went on site yesterday and stressed that some of the buildings would be retained.
“Some of the hostels will be demolished, not all of them,” she said.
“This is to meet the demand due to increased passenger numbers. We signalled this a long time ago,” she added.
The car park spaces will be available by next summer and airport management is hoping to handle 3.6 million passengers next year.
“We do need those spaces to meet the demand,” she added.
Some of the buildings are understood to be listed structures and will be retained. One of them has been used as a storage area while another has been used as a training school for the airport police.
Shannon-based County Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Independent) said the demolition marked the “end of an era”.
“Even thought the hostels have been empty for a long time, this is a reminded of what Shannon started off as. Things are happening at the airport. There is a need to change and redevelop and it is time to move on. Car parking spaces are needed,” she said.
She said the idea of building a multi-storey should be considered, in an effort to put the land in the vicinity of the airport to good use.