Tag Archives: clare county council

Clare Public Participation Network, the organisation of Community and Voluntary Groups in County Clare, is holding its first county level public meeting of 2017 on Wednesday next at 7 pm in The Old Ground Hotel, Ennis. Each Public Participation Network is required to hold two county level plenary meetings each year and these meetings are the main decision making forums for the whole organisation. At Wednesday’s meeting the PPN’s board members, ‘the secretariat’ will be reflecting on the great year that Clare PPN had in 2016 and will be calling for input from all member groups about what activities to prioritise in 2017. Marie Therese Carroll, the representative from Ennis Municipal District explained, “The PPN is a great resource for community groups. In the last year, as well as having our community representatives participating in Clare County Council’s committees, we have been able to organise training and workshops for group members in all sorts of things from media and social …

Motorists intending to use the N67 between Ballyvaughan and New Quay from today (Monday) to Friday, February 10 may face delays because of roadworks. Necessary road improvement works are being undertaken on behalf of Clare County Council from 8am to 6pm daily. Works are to last three weeks and the contract is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). It involves the laying of a new road surface on a 6km section of the N67 between Kinvara and Ballyvaughan. The works will be undertaken from a point 3km from the Galway border (Flaggy Shore junction) to Muckinish Hill (approximately 8km east of Ballyvaughan). The bulk of the works will be done under a single-lane closure but there may be some delays of 10 to 15 minutes for a portion of the works. Alternative detour routes will be signposted.

THE development of the new flagship €8.5 million County Library project in Ennis is moving ahead, with confirmation that the local authority will soon be seeking approval from the Government to apply for planning permission. It is expected that, subject to approval from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, the planning application will be made in either March or April. It is hoped that the main building development near Glór will begin on site next year, with construction anticipated to take 18 months. Liam Conneally, director of service with Clare County Council for housing, culture, sports and amenities, outlined, “The project is subject to ongoing cost reviews and stage approvals, as per the guidelines issued by the department. “Stage two is due to be submitted to the department in late February 2017 to seek approval to proceed to submission of a planning application in March or April. The date is subject to department approval to proceed.” A full …

Points of heritage and cultural interest, along with biking and hiking trails in County Clare, feature in a new online resource, which provides free web access to details on the built, cultural and natural heritage around Ireland and offshore. HeritageMaps.ie has been developed by the Heritage Council working over the past 18 months with National Biodiversity Data Centre, the Discovery Programme, Compass Informatics and local authorities, including Clare County Council. Featuring over 150,000 mapped points of interest and 600 datasets displayed in map form, the viewer allows users to create customised maps and explore a vast range of Ireland’s heritage including pilgrim paths, burial grounds, museums, archaeological sites, maritime collections and walled towns, all from their phone, tablet or desktop. Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys, commented, “Heritagemaps.ie should appeal to a wide audience and will be of use to people of all ages, from heritage enthusiasts, to school children and professional planners. It’s great …

AA Ireland is warning motorists to prepare for hazardous driving conditions in coming days, after Met Éireann advised that snow and icy conditions, as well as high winds, are expected across the country in the coming days. Hail, sleet and snow are likely to affect the north of the country as early as today (Wednesday) before moving south throughout Thursday, which could result in dangerous driving conditions during the morning rush hour. AA Ireland is advising motorists to slow down and allow extra braking distance when driving. “We haven’t had truly icy conditions yet this Winter but they may be on the way,” Conor Faughnan, AA director of consumer affairs warned. “Icy conditions and snow are a real danger for motorists. Even where roads are treated the grip of the tyres and the braking distance that you have to allow are very different. What may look like a perfectly safe surface may have ice lingering especially in shady spots, and …

CONCERNS about the impact of the water supply to Moneypoint on residents of West Clare, have been raised at a meeting of Clare County Council. Councillor Ian Lynch proposed that Irish Water and the management of Moneypoint “cease the current arrangements for water supply to the generation station, until a suitable water management plan is put in place that will end the adverse effects the current arrangements are having on entire West Clare communities.” He said people were left without a proper water service for more than 10 days. “People can’t flush their toilets or have a shower. I don’t think that’s acceptable in this day and age.” A report from senior engineer Sean Ward said, “The flow to Moneypoint power station increases when the station’s reservoirs are being filled. Under the present regime, this occurs approximately twice annually and lasts typically for three days at a time, although this duration may be variable. Cooraclare road, including Tullabrack, Breaghva and …

CLARE county councillors have agreed to remove a controversial seven-year residency clause to qualify as a “local rural person” for planning permission in the new 2017-2023 Clare County Development Plan. However, councillors may have inadvertently created another problem for planners after the insertion of a new clause in the classification of the local rural person category. Previously, a person who was not born in an area could not get planning permission for a one-off dwelling unless they had lived permanently in the local rural area for a minimum of seven years. This category has now been redefined as follows: “A local rural person is a person who was born within the local rural area, or who is living in the local rural area for substantial periods of their lives at any stage(s) prior to making the planning application”. Under the new plan, planners will have to decide what is “substantial periods of their lives” for any planning applicant. This category …