This article is from page 18 of the 2006-05-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
PLANS for a fourth quarry to help build the €190 million Ennis by-pass have suffered a setback.
Clare County Council has asked GAMA Construction, the group building the new roadway, to submit a full Environmental Impact Statement on the scheme (EIS).
The new quarry is already facing opposition from a couple of locals.
GAMA is currently working towards having the eastern section of the scheme open by next October. The group has secured planning for three quarries along the route to excavate 900,000 m of rock material, with 480,000 m of the total to be excavated from the largest quarry granted planning at Killow/Kilbreckan on the outskirts of Ennis.
They want to develop a fourth quarry on a site extending to 4.34 hectares with an extraction area of 3.635 hectares.
According to GAMA, “the proposed development is solely for the purpose of the provision of rock to the N18, Ennis bypass, which is presently under-construction immediately to the west of the application site”.
The council states that the EIS should detail cumulative impact of the proposed quarry and a nearby existing quarry.
GAMA has also been asked to submit a detailed assessment of the proposed crushing and processing operation at the identified location on the surrounding environment and include mitigation measures.
In his objection, Pat Hehir of 9 Phoenix Court, Kilrush Road, Ennis states that it “relates primarily to the negative impact of the proposal on the residential amenity value and property value of nearby dwelling owned by Mr Hehir”.
Another local resident, Claire Daly of Kilbreckan, Doora, states that there has been no communication from GAMA over the current proposal.
Ms Daly acknowledged that while there were plenty of safeguards in relation to blasting, “there was inadequate provision for processing of rock in relation to crushing and stockpiling”.
The works on the by-pass are due to end in 12 months time. It is difficult to see how much of a material difference the operation of the quarry will make to the overall project.
The application will become ‘live’ again, when GAMA lodges the required EIS.