Tag Archives: Rural Development SPC

AN assurance has been given that jobs at Shannon Heritage sites in Clare are secure, as the transfer to the local authority is expected to be approved shortly by government.  Leonard Cleary, Director of Services for Tourism, said the authority expects sign-off very soon for the transfer of the sites to Clare County Council. “We would like it to happen, with government approval, before summer,” Mr Cleary told a meeting of the Council’s Rural Development committee.  Efforts to transfer the sites from the Shannon Airport Group met an impasse at the end of last year, when the government offered a fraction of the €15 million funding package sought by Clare County Council. Since then, a range of options has been explored and meetings have continued into this week in an effort to resolve the issue and protect amenities and jobs at sites including Bunratty Castle, Craggaunowen and Knappogue Castle. Addressing a rural committee meeting in Ennis on Tuesday (February 21), …

CLARITY has been sought by several councillors on the impact of the new Residential Zoned Land Tax which the Government is to introduce in 2024. At a meeting of the Council’s Rural Development committee, members expressed concern about what the new tax could mean for land owners. In a presentation on the Draft County Development Plan 2023-2029, senior planner Helen Quinn also outlined what is known about the tax. “This is a new proposal from government and has been outlined in the Finance Act (2021), which was signed in last days of December,” she said. “It means that a tax of 3% of site value (will be levied) with the aim of activating land for residential purposes. It will replace the vacant sites levy which applied to residentially zoned lands and mixed use. The new tax will be operational from February 1 2024 and will be collected by Revenue.” Ms Quinn explained that the role of the local authority is …

‘OUTSIDE influence’ was described as a major threat to the vitality of rural Clare at a meeting of a local authority committee this week.  At the briefing on the Draft County Development Plan 2023-2029, Rural Committee Chairperson Councillor Pat Hayes said the public need to know that Clare is being ‘dictated to’ by The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR). In a detailed presentation, Senior Planner Helen Quinn outlined how a target of 4,500 new housing units, over the lifetime of the plan, had been set by Government. “The location of these houses is reflected in our settlement strategy,” she explained. “We are tasked with looking at areas for housing and have to identify lands for residential development which are capable of being serviced in the lifecycle of the plan.”  Councillor Joe Killeen expressed “complete disappointment” at the focus of population growth on Ennis and the Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area. “People will move into built-up areas and rural communities will not …