The CEO of Clare County Council insists the local authority is committed to securing unprecedented investment in Ennis.
The comments were made amid fiery exchanges during a special presentation made by the Ennis 2040 board to elected representatives in front of a sizeable public gallery at Áras Chontae An Chláir this afternoon.
The meeting commenced with a speech from CEO Pat Dowling outlining the importance of discussing the future development of the town and that as a commercial sector, “Ennis must compete with the likes of Castlebar, Athlone and Tralee”.
The briefing was called on the back of a motion from Clarecastle Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom O’Callaghan to examine the spending of the council subsidiary and the effect controversial projects such as the Abbey Street, Post Office Field and Harvey’s Quay Developments would have on car parking and consumer footfall in the town.
The large crowd in attendance in the public gallery for the briefing, included members of Save Ennis Town, the Retailers of Ennis and the “Hands Off Our Post Office Field Group.”
During his presentation, Ennis 2040 Chief Operating Officer Kevin Corrigan noted that over 200 submissions were lodged during the public consultation for the Abbey Street Development, with the top five concerns relating to the loss of parking in the town, vacancy, the loss of civic and amenity space, loss of age-friendly spaces and anti-social behaviour.
Mr Corrigan went on to say the most important function of the DAC will be to increase housing supply in Ennis, citing that more than 3,000 adults in the town are still living at home, while the DAC has the remit to provide up to 500 homes during its lifetime.
The meeting also heard the €15m Abbey Street Development would create up to 141 permanent jobs and would yield a return on investment within seven years, and that 70% of the project would result in the creation of new public realm areas.
On the issue of parking, Council CEO Pat Dowling told the meeting the Abbey Street project would not proceed until alternative parking is provided in the town centre, while Ennis Municipal District Director of Economic Development, Carmel Kirby confirmed the DAC was exploring a new multi-storey car park near the Temple Gate Hotel.
Mr Dowling went on to state that no shovels will be in the ground at Abbey Street for at least another three years and that the council was committed to securing “unprecedented investment in Ennis”.
Retiring Ennis Fine Gael Councillor Johnny Flynn expressed dissatisfaction throughout the meeting, and stated the DAC was wasting the time of and disrespecting elected representatives, which along with Cllr Gerry Flynn’s calls for the DAC to be dissolved and Cllr Tom O’Callaghan’s claims of public reps being ignored by the DAC, generated large rounds of cheering and applause from the public gallery.
