Report recommends ‘careful deconstruction’ of Blake’s Corner

The controversy surrounding two iconic buildings in North Clare could be about to end after a report commissioned by Clare County Council recommended their “careful deconstruction” and reconstruction set back from their current site.

In the past, local councillors raised safety concerns about the junction at Blake’s and Linnane’s in Ennistymon with some claiming that if work was not done at the junction it would result in loss of life. Councillors also claimed the traffic problems caused by the junction were putting tourists off travelling to the area and thus costing the local economy money at a time when businesses need the revenue.
A local organisation, Save Ennistymon’s Heritage, campaigned for the buildings to be maintained, citing their cultural and historic value and their importance to the town’s image.
The buildings now look set to be demolished, the junction widened and their facades rebuilt farther back from the road on their current site.
At a recent North Clare area meeting, Councillor Richard Nagle put down two motions in relation to the corner.
In one he requested that the resurfacing of the N67 from Griffin’s Corner to Blake’s and Linnane’s be completed. Stephen Lahiffe, senior executive engineer, Ennistymon Area Office, in his reply explained that until “there is an outcome to the proposals for Blake’s Corner, funding will not be available for the restoration” of the road. He added, however, that the stretch of road would be included in the annual ordinary maintenance programme.
Councillor Nagle stressed the need for the road surface at Blake’s Corner to be urgently improved.
“We are not willing to do a complete finished job on it at the present because we probably will have to change it when the work at Blake’s Corner starts,” explained Mr Lahiffe.
The second motion by the Ennistymon Fianna Fáil councillor requested an update regarding the improvement of the junction.
The council’s senior engineer, transportation, Tom Tiernan responded confirming that the €300,000, which had been allocated last year under the National Roads Grants for the proposed junction improvements at Blake’s, had been “temporarily forfeited”.
He added that the “sensitivities” associated with the proposed changes and the two protected structures mean that moving the project forward would be “complex and would take some time”. The matter was discussed with the National Roads Authority, Mr Tiernan stated in his response to Councillor Nagle, and the NRA “gave a commitment to support the project once the statutory planning and ancillary procedures would be completed”.
Since mid-2010, Mr Tiernan outlined, “considerable research and survey work has been carried out with a view to determining the most appropriate way forward”. The objective, he said, of this work is to find a resolution “which would best deal with traffic requirements in the vicinity of the junction while at the same time respecting the status and sensitivities associated with the protected structures”.
Conservation engineering and design specialists were hired and their report was completed, it was claimed at the meeting, in January. Mr Tiernan outlined that the primary recommendation of this report proposes the “careful deconstruction of the buildings and reconstruction of the front portions of the same set back in the site on the same east-west access using original conserved historic fabric to the exact profiles of the buildings as they currently exist. The reconstructed buildings would be set back on the site adequately to facilitate alteration of the junction to the degree requirement, while at the same time facilitating enough off-road space in the vicinity of the reconstructed buildings to allow them to be used in a practical way safely.”
Mr Tiernan stated that he concurred with the recommendation and “it is now proposed to examine the most appropriate way forward with a view to securing planning approval so that the necessary works can proceed on the ground”.
Councillor Nagle said he was disappointed in Mr Tiernan’s response “because he didn’t put a time frame that this will be bought to a conclusion”.
“People have contacted me telling me that there are a number of possible projects and investment that could happen in Ennistymon but that they will not happen until the junction is sorted,” Councillor Nagle added. “It is time for action and time to bring this to conclusion once and for all.”
Councillor Michael Kelly said the corner, in its current state, is proving an impediment to tourism. “People will be caught on that corner for an hour and they will say ‘this is the last time I will come up here’,” he asserted.
“This has been analysed out of existence. The bottom line is that it needs to be dealt with and dealt with fast.”
Ennistymon Fine Gael Councillor Martin Conway stated there have been safety issues at the corner since he was first elected to the council in 2004.
“The amount of clap trap we have had to listen to in relation to this, the reality is very different. Some one is going to be killed,” he claimed. Councillor Conway added that it is “time to make a decision once and for all and move on”.
Councillor Joe Arkins addressed Mr Lahiffe saying, “I am disappointed at the lack of drive and enthusiasm on behalf of your seniors to make this progress”.
He called for Blake’s Corner to be “item number one” on the agenda for the next area meeting, due to take place on May 23.
“There has been too much dragging of feet in relation to this,” Councillor Arkins stated before requesting a copy of the report.
Councillor Nagle described the junction at Blake’s Corner as the “biggest hindrance to the economic development of Ennistymon and Lahinch”.
“In this instance we had the money and weren’t in a position to spend it. That is the most ludicrous and upsetting thing about it,” he contended.