This article is from page 3 of the 2006-08-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
FEARS were expressed yesterday for the long-term future of the core of Ennis, after census figures show that the town’s urban population has dropped by nearly 20 per cent in the past 10 years.
According to the most recent figures, the town’s core urban population now stands at 5,917, compared to 7,163 a decade ago. And in the past four years, the town’s urban population has declined by six per cent.
The drop in core population has coincided with a drift to the fringes, resulting in the town’s overall population increasing from 18,830 to 20,234 – an increase of 7.5 per cent.
The publication of the census coincides with business interests lodging plans for retail parks on the periphery of Ennis, where the anticipated turnover is put at €54 million. In response to the figures, Green Party councillor Brian Meaney yesterday warned of the ‘doughnut effect’ taking hold in Ennis.
“This is a phenomenon commonly seen in the US and the UK where town centres have died as a result of concentrating on the periphery, where the car is king. This is already happening in Ennis,” he said.
“These figures are in part due to families getting older and the children building on the outskirts of Ennis, but it also raises a fundamental point about the development of our town. I would be concerned as well from an economic point of view that the various retail parks would have an adverse impact on Ennis town centre.”
Cllr Meaney said the figures emphasise the need to retain and expand core services within the town, rather than on the outskirts.
According to Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind), these figures reinforce the argument for an extension to the current Ennis Town Council boundary. The last extension was made more than 20 years ago.
Cllr Brennan said, “There is very little land left in which to build within the town boundary and people looking to build outside are being refused due to the ‘non-local rule’.”
Chief executive of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, said that the population figures in relation to Ennis town centre can be seen as a positive as more space is being given to commercial development in favour of residential development.
She said, “It is important that a balance is struck. Ennis is thriving, but it is also at a crossroads in terms of the level of development and where it will be allowed.”