This article is from page 12 of the 2006-09-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
PLANS for a €35 million housing development located in close proximity to Ennis Golf Club have been withdrawn.
Earlier this year, developer, Joe McNamara was refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanala to build 159 homes on Golk Links Road.
Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council granted planning permission to Mr McNamara, however the decision was appealed by local residents who claimed that “the established integrity of the golf course would be seriously undermined by the proposed development and its future viability would be uncertain”.
In response to the Board’s decision, Mr McNamara lodged revised plans for a 148 unit development and a decision was expected in the next number of days.
The proposal faced dogged resistance from local objectors, Caroline and Bobby Stack and Eugene and Bernadette Carey, while John Madden of Glencairn House, Hermitage, also voiced his opposition.
In their objection, the Stacks and the Careys stated: “The proposed housing, because of its proximity to the existing golf course, would give rise to mutual conflicts and injury to both the amenities of the golf course users and of any residential properties that would adjoin it.”
In his objection, John Madden stated: “ There has been no detailed and meaningful hydrological study with regard to the flooding impacts of the proposal.”
It is open for Mr McNamara to reapply for a new scheme – in a report to Bord Pleanala by one of its inspectors into the development, it was stated that the scheme “is broadly acceptable in principle”.