Tag Archives: Kilrush Road

AN Bord Pleanála has overruled one of its own inspector and opened the door to a major commercial development in Ennis. The board’s inspector had recommended overturning a Clare County Council decision allowing a new Aldi store at Westpoint on the Kilrush Road; he was overruled, however, and the development has been given the go-ahead. In a report prepared following the appeal of Clare County Council’s decision to give Maom Property Ltd & Lohan Property Ltd planning permission, An Bord Pleanála Planning Inspector Adrian Ormsby warned that the development would be detrimental to Ennis town centre. “It is considered that, notwithstanding the ‘Commercial’ zoning and the ‘COM6’ zoning objective of the site for use as a ‘neighbourhood centre’, the proposed development would contribute to an excessive scale which is beyond what would be reasonably envisaged for a neighbourhood centre in this area and would be of a nature and scale that would create a counter-attraction to existing town centre services …

THE lack of a bus stop for patients from West Clare accessing the Outpatients Department in Ennis has been described the Cathaoirleach of the district as “a bit of a miss”. Councillor Cillian Murphy made his remarks at the meeting of the district committee last week when he called for collaboration with the Ennis district and the Roads Section to ensure a stop is installed. He said he had been contacted by someone who needs to use public transport to access the facility, which opened last year at the Westpoint Retail Park on the Kilrush Road. “What we need is a little joined up thinking,” Councillor Murphy said. “It took long enough to get the Outpatients Department opened up there in the first place. Having no bus stop to serve patients from West Clare is a bit of a miss.” Councillor Gabriel Keating supported the motion and added a bus shelter is also necessary. “At the moment, we have an …

A TOTAL of €150,000 has been spent by Clare County Council to-date on legal costs relating to an illegal encampment on the Kilrush Road in Ennis. The figure was given in response to a series of questions posed by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy at the November meeting of the authority. Members were also told that the advice from the Department of Housing is not to remove families from unauthorised sites while the Level 5 restrictions remain in place. Councillor Colleran Molloy expressed surprise that all six of the unauthorised encampments are in Ennis. “My purpose in raising this issue is to find out that the council is doing to deal with it,” she said. “I was not previously aware that they are all in the Ennis district and all in a short distance of the Rocky Road roundabout and the Doora exit off the motorway.” A written response from Director of Social Development, Anne Haugh, outlined that the council secured …

ENNIS’ famous goats are moving to pastures new in County Louth. The animals have been taken to their new home on a mountain farm for safety reasons, according to Clare County Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, who revealed that since straying from their traditional home on the Rocky Road, at least three of the herd have been killed. Mr Coote, who was involved in moving the goats on Wednesday, said he recovered the body of a kid that was struck by a car in recent days. This is in addition to two kids that were electrocuted after wandering into an ESB substation. The goats made headline news across the country and further afield when videos of them roaming around the Kilrush Road were posted on social media. Though their antics were a source of amusement for many, some locals reported that the animals were getting on top of people’s cars, damaging gardens and roaming out onto the road, sparking calls for …

PLANS for the development of a supermarket and medical services centre on the outskirts of Ennis town centre have been put on hold, with an appeal lodged to An Bord Pleanála. Clare Car & Tractor Parts Ltd and Lohan Property Ltd were granted planning permission by Clare County Council for the development of the existing retail warehouse site on the Kilrush Road. The application sought the amalgamation and change of use of the four permitted ground-floor retail warehouse units to provide for: a supermarket, including a licensed alcohol sales area; eight neighbourhood centre retail units, with new independent shopfront entrances and neighbourhood centre management areas. The plans also include a medical services facility, including consultant rooms and associated waiting and administration area and more than 200 parking spaces. A total of 14 third-party submissions were received in relation to the development. Among those making submissions were local businesses, including Tesco Ireland Ltd, O’Sullivan & Hansbury Motors, Musgrave Retail Partners, as …

A man in his 20s arrested by gardaí in connection with an investigation into a robbery at a shop on the Kilrush Road in  Ennis on October 18 has this evening (Wednesday) been released without charge. A file will now be prepared for the information of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).  

AN Ennis businessman has spoken of his “terrifying ordeal” after he was subjected to an alleged armed robbery on Wednesday afternoon, the third break-in in 12 years. Stephen Coote said a man wearing a Hallowe’en mask and dark clothing entered his shop on the Kilrush Road and held a “small black gun” up to his face. Coote’s shop is a well-known landmark in the town and is a stop-off point for people travelling to West Clare. Mr Coote’s mother, Mary, was also working in the shop at the time, when the suspect demanded money on Wednesday. He said Mary has been present for a number of break-ins, including a very serious incident, when she was left with a broken arm after a vicious assault. “He walked me halfway up the shop and started shouting at Mam, who said that she couldn’t open the till. He held the gun up to my face. I pressed the panic button as I was …

Construction will commence next week on the construction of a new footpath/cycle path on the N68 Kilrush Road in Ennis. Designed by Clare County Council and funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the works will take place from the Kilrush Road Roundabout southwards as far as the junction of the N68 and L 4176 at Rockmount Cross. When complete, the works being carried out by Ward and Burke Construction, will deliver improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists accessing Ennis National School from residential areas around the N68 and Ballybeg and provide a continuous footpath connection to Ennis Town Centre. Motorists are advised that temporary traffic lights will be in place on occasion during the six-week project, which begins next week with site clearance, tree cutting and vegetation removal. Traffic restrictions will be eased during school drop-off and pick-up times. Clare County Council confirmed that the new 3 metre-wide shared use bi-directional footpath/cyclepath will be constructed along the east side of …