New contractor to complete Cluain Airne

A NEW contractor has been selected to finish off the affordable housing development at Cluain Airne but as yet a start date for commencement hasn’t been given.
Resident Nicole Murphy said that while she was pleased that a contractor had been found, she was more interested in finding out when work would get under way and finish. “I got an email about it last week saying that a contractor had been appointed. But at this stage what we really want to know is when work will start and when it will finish. Those are the dates that are important.”
She said that residents are unhappy with the parking provision made by the council for existing residents.
Gerry Flynn, who sits on both Clare County Council and Shannon Town Council, said that the matter has been badly handled from the outset. “A contractor has been appointed but the report I’ve got doesn’t give a start date, it says that a completion contractor has been appointed and that they are now arranging contract documentation.
“What has happened has been a total debacle and it should never have happened. The local authority were not on top of their brief,” he commented.
Councillor Flynn said that there had been numerous difficulties, including difficulties regarding rights of way, while he also claimed that residents of Cluain Airne have issues with parking.
Councillor Flynn said he hopes the development does come to a conclusion soon. “For the sake of people who are living beside it, I hope they finish it,” he commented.
Sinn Féin Town Councillor Cathy McCafferty also said she was hopeful work will begin and the half-built development completed as soon as possible.
“We have been told that a new contractor has been identified but we don’t know when he’s starting.
“There are 22 houses to be finished in the first phase and I would welcome that being finished up, the area being cleaned up and people being able to move in without hassle.”
She said that she doesn’t believe subsequent phases of the affordable housing development will go ahead.
When the zoning of the land where the houses are being built was changed, many of the local residents were not aware of it and it was a cause of some local anger.
In 2007, before work got underway, council officials were adamant that the development needed to have 60 houses.
“It has to be at least 60 houses or it won’t fly. It wouldn’t be economically viable otherwise,” one official commented at a town council meeting that June.
However, with the housing market now having turned completely, it is far from certain that any work will ever take place beyond the first phase.