Tag Archives: clare county council

THE development of Clare’s first MRI unit is being planned for Ennis by a leading provider of diagnostic imaging. At the moment patients in need of MRI scans have to travel outside Clare, with the nearest units in Limerick and Galway. Alliance Medical is seeking planning permission to allow for the development of an MRI diagnostic unit at the newly opened Primary Care Centre situated at the former Braid’s site on Station Road. The planning application seeks a change in use of an already permitted ground floor cafe/coffee shop unit, which is currently vacant, to medical use. The company has been given permission by the site’s owners Valley Healthcare to make the planning application to Clare County Council. A planning statement prepared by Coakley O’Neill on behalf of the applicant and lodged with the application outlines that Ennis, as the county’s key town “is ideally suited” to provide these facilities and “within Ennis, the newly opened primary care centre is …

‘HELL’ has been predicted, when people start to receive tax bills on zoned land in their ownership, under next year’s Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) regime.  The comment was made by Councillor Shane Talty on foot of a motion tabled by Councillor PJ Ryan. The Shannon member called for a derogation, for a fixed period, on the RZLT. He voiced concern at the number of people looking for their lands to be dezoned, and the impact that that might have on the provision of housing. Supporting the motion, Councillor Talty said many people were unaware of the implications of owning zoned land. “I think this is going to blow up into serious controversy when these Revenue letters arrive, the actual bills,” he said.  While there was widespread support for the motion, Councillor Ryan deferred it on the advice of Council Chief Executive Pat Dowling, to give time to examine recently-received public submissions on the RZLT.  Outlining a topic that generated …

PERMISSION has been granted for the creation of four serviced sites in Quin, with outline permission for four detached homes. Concerns had been raised by local authority planners over a number of aspects of the proposals. Developer, Jimal Investments, addressed these in a Further Information (FI) submission made at the end of last year, and the green light has now been given subject to 21 conditions. Among these are controls on the height of any future dwellings on the sites. Conditions relating to external finishes, landscaping, the name any future residential development and public lighting have also been applied. Outline permission applies for a period of three years and the Council has stipulated that any residential development granted within that time must be subject to a development contribution and the lodgement of a cash bond. Plans for the creation of the sites in Quingardens were lodged last September, with the developer telling the Council that they would involve demolishing an …

EFFORTS to speed up the turnaround of Council properties once they become vacant have been called for by the Chairperson of the authority’s housing committee. Councillor Gerry Flynn called for a comprehensive survey of all residential property owned and rented by the Council, with a focus on older developments. He told the January meeting of the local authority that this approach would reduce the need for major renovations when the tenancies are surrendered back to the Council for future letting. Addressing the meeting, the Shannon member said the Council is moving to a Planned Maintenance Programme for its 2,700 properties. He noted that the Council had an approved loan of €10 million for maintenance, of which just €3 million has been drawn down to-date. “It was always expected that there would be a surge after Covid-19 in relation to maintenance, I would expect further drawdown of this loan,” he said. “I think it’s important we take a more proactive approach …

A DIRECTION from the Office of the Planning Regulator requesting Clare County Council to dezone huge tracts of land for development in the Draft 2023 to 2029 Clare County Development Plan has been criticised by local councillors. Describing a new document from the OPR as “frightening and unbelievable”, Councillor P J Kelly has urged councillors to unite to oppose the recommended changes. Council chairman, Councillor Tony O’Brien called a meeting of councillors from different political groupings on Tuesday and requested them to discuss this issue at Municipal District level to try and establish a consensus for challenging this intervention. While Cooraclare and Broadford have been earmarked for new waste water facilities under a proposed national scheme, Councillor Kelly noted material amendments to facilitate development have been ruled out in both locations, placing a question mark over the viability of these facilities. Speaking at a West Clare Municipal District meeting on Tuesday, the Lissycasey councillor claimed the OPR has wrongly based …

E-SCOOTERS, drug driving and safer cycling could be some of the tasks on the ‘to-do’ list for the new joint role of Active Travel and Road Safety Officer at Clare County Council.  At the January meeting, Councillor Gabriel Keating called on the authority to appoint an officer to deal with the issues of active travel and road safety. “In January 2021, Minister Eamon Ryan and Hildegarde Naughten launched funding for up to 248 jobs in local authorities to expand walking and cycling facilities all over the country, costing more than €1.8 billion during the lifetime of the government,” he said. “One of the conditions was that each local authority will appoint an Active Travel Officer. Now regarding the Road Safety Officer, there has been a huge increase in the number of fatalities on our roads in Clare and I think it’s time now that we consider appointing a new full time Road Safely Officer.” The motion was seconded by Councillor …

HEARTBREAK is being suffered by those struggling to find a home, when so many properties are left vacant and derelict, a meeting of Clare County Council has heard.  The comments came from Councillor Shane Talty in response to a motion tabled by Councillor Joe Killeen. The Ennistymon postmaster agreed with calls for stronger Council powers to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs). “If your family are housed, you might not even see the derelict properties,” he said, “But, for families and young people, and older people for coming off an income cliff in their transition to retirement age, if you’re passing out these derelict properties every day, families are literally heartbroken and say, ‘Why can’t I get an opportunity to make a home and make a life for a family there’?” Tabling the motion, Councillor Killeen said, “Every opportunity must be made to try and alleviate the situation by making more homes available. We must register our frustration at the number …

A CALL has been made for measures to support homeowners who have pyrite in their foundations, as well as in their blocks.  While Clare is to be included, in the coming months, in a grant scheme to remediate block work, this does not cover foundations. At the January meeting of the local authority, Councillor Ian Lynch called for the inclusion of Clare in the Pyrite Remediation Scheme, set up ten years ago to address pyrite in under-floors and foundations. The West Clare member also called for the removal of the controversial ‘damage threshold’ that homes will be required to meet before being able to access grant funding.  “I think that any house that has been identified as having pyrite and defective concrete blocks shouldn’t be subject to a damage threshold,” Councillor Lynch told the meeting. “What’s the point trying to fix the concrete blocks and the outside, and then waiting three or four years and finding that the household has …