Opposition to €10m nursing home

PLANS to build a state-of-the art €10 million nursing home in Westbury have been met with several objections.
In a submission to Clare County Council, An Taisce claimed the site wasn’t within walking distance of shops and bus routes and didn’t have easy access to rooms in the nursing home for those with disabilities.
It stated that toilet facilities were not disability friendly and there appeared to be only one shared bathroom on each corridor.
“Our main concern is water management, the proximity of the River Shannon and flooding.
“The site has major drainage problems and we do not feel that the water and sewage would be adequate for the established EU drinking water and that waste disposal systems would be within the performance of the EU water framework for surface and ground water protection,” the submission stated.
The Athlunkard Partnership, comprising a group of Mid-Western businessmen, is seeking planning permission to construct a two-storey nursing home consisting of 110 single en-suite bedrooms, day living space, kitchen, bathrooms and ancillary rooms and services, car parking, landscaping, connection to existing foul drainage and demolition of outhouses and a derelict dwelling near St Nicholas Church, Westbury.
In 2007, Athlunkard Partnership spokesman Flor McCarthy was involved in the construction of a new 80-bed nursing home at Killure Bridge, Waterford, costing €8m, a 52-bed nursing home was built in 2001 in Portlaoise for €4m, while a 54-bed facility provided in Kildare town cost €4.5m.
Mr McCarthy explained that the premises was a means to providing top-quality care to patients in a pleasant environment.
Describing the location as “superb”, he explained the site was ideally situated near St Nicholas Church, a post office and shop, Westbury Neighbourhood Centre and shopping complex and was close to Limerick City.
Mary and Martin Fallon argued in their submission that restricting visitation between the hours of 11am to 3pm as proposed would be contrary to all good principles of nursing home care and would be detrimental to the well-being of the residents.
They expressed concern about the negative impact the development would have on the road network following the opening of the new €1.2m Westbury Health Centre last month and the extra traffic already generated by Parteen GAA Club’s all-weather pitch.
“The whole design with long corridor, single dining room, single entrance and high walls surrounding the building is very institutionalised and more like a centre of detention rather than a home-style environment, which would give a greater sense of independence to residents,” they claimed.
“We believe that facilities are needed for the young population, particularly children and teenagers, for Westbury. This development does not address this and would draw its residents from outside the area and wouldn’t contribute to existing facilities.
“Footpaths in the area are not suitable for wheelchair access. There is no bus shelter or seating at the bus stop, which would be essential for elderly people. The nearest post office is two miles away in Ardnacrusha.
“We have concerns about the sewerage system at this location and its capacity to accommodate more development.
“We wonder if a development of this size would exceed its capacity and slow down the taking in charge of the Westbury Estate,”  they stated.