Lobby group calls for Blake’s Corner options to be investigated

LOBBY group Save Ennistymon’s Heritage this week called on Clare County Council to confirm that it would not demolish Blake’s Corner in the town. It also urged the local authority to “set up a feasibility study to investigate the various options for Blake’s including moving Blake’s Corner, a one-way traffic system, traffic lights and a bypass”.
The group were responding to a debate on the future of the historic Blake and Linnane buildings at a recent meeting of the North Clare Electoral Area councillors.
“We have put Clare County Council in contact with the experts in this field so no doubt, they can discuss costings when they meet. It must be further noted that Richard Nagle promised the voters of Ennistymon some years ago that he would get Clare County Council to build a bypass, thus avoiding the traffic chaos in the town,” claimed Denis Vaughan from Save Ennistymon’s Heritage.
Councillor Nagle denies this. “That is untrue and without foundation. I have made it quite clear to the people of Ennistymon that while a bypass is the ideal solution, the probability of getting finance for a bypass is virtually nil. The NRA did not regard the provision of a bypass a priority based on the number of vehicles using the town. While there are very high volumes of traffic during the months of July and August, the NRA based their figures on the volume of traffic on a year-round basis,” he said.
“There has been provision for a bypass of the town in the North Clare Local Area Plan and in the county development plan for over 20 years. Unfortunately, as the NRA did not consider it a priority, it proved impossible to secure finance for it. We are now left in a situation where we either come up with an alternative solution or the people of Ennistymon and North Clare have to continue to endure traffic congestion and the associated traffic hazards at what is an extremely busy and increasingly dangerous junction,” the councillor added.
According to Mr Vaughan, the traffic problem at the junction has been exacerbated by Clare County Council.
“Clare County Council built the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre for €30 million without studying or addressing the traffic problems of Ennistymon when the council should have built, in unison, the bypass at Ennistymon. Whilst we are very supportive of tourism in Ennistymon, Clare County Council should be constructive regarding the problems of the town. Destruction is not the answer to our town’s headaches.
“Ennistymon is a major tourism attraction with its unique shop fronts, the iconic Blake’s Corner and other historic attractions. These attractions must not be damaged in any way. Further, we call on Clare County Council to commission a detailed site investigation by an independent construction engineer,” Mr Vaughan concluded.