Tag Archives: shannon

AN American Airlines flight from Miami to Paris was forced to divert to Shannon this morning. It is understood that an emergency landing was required due to signs of a fire in the cargo hold. Emergency services met the plane upon it landing. American Airlines have tweeted that they expect the flight to leave Shannon again at around 1pm. One of the passengers on board tweeted, “Great start to our European adventure. We’re safe. Looks like it was a false alarm.” He also put up a picture of the plane alongside two fire brigades and an ambulance as well as a number of emergency services personnel and passengers.  

THE county council has been asked to outline its vision for Shannon’s future, following the recent rejection of an application for planning permission by Aldi. There has been local anger at the rejection of the application, which people hoped would help revitalise the town and help towards giving it a conventional streetscape for the first time. At this week’s Shannon Municipal District meeting, Councillors Mike McKee and Gerry Flynn both put down motions regarding local development, while there was very widespread annoyance among the members regarding it. At Tuesday morning’s meeting, Councillor McKee said he had been amazed with the decision to give the Aldi proposal the thumbs down. “I was stunned with the reasons given and I couldn’t understand the logic,” the Sinn Féin representative said. He claimed that the development would have “taken away the stranglehold SkyCourt has on retail in Shannon”. Councillor McKee said that he hopes Aldi appeal. “I hope they appeal and are successful. For …

INTENSE anger at the rejection of an application for planning permission for a new Aldi store was voiced at a public meeting in Shannon this week. At least 70 people attended the meeting in the Oakwood Hotel, many of them furious that local shopping centre SkyCourt had objected to the proposal. There was also a fair share of anger at council planners. Shannon has never had a conventional town centre in the way that virtually ever town in Ireland does and many people living locally want one. The proposed Aldi store would have been across the road from SkyCourt, on the same side as McDonald’s, a fuel station and the Oakwood and there was a feeling that the development would have been at least a step in the right direction. Sinn Féin Councillor Mike McKee organised Tuesday’s meeting, where he strongly argued against a boycott of SkyCourt, saying it would damage local business and employment, when some members of the …

CLARE county councillor Mike McKee has slammed the decision to turn down the planning application by Aldi to develop a store in Shannon. The local planning authority this week turned down Aldi’s application to develop an outlet on a site on the opposite side of Bóthar Mór to Skycourt in the town centre. The Sinn Féin representative said the decision is going down badly locally, in a town where many people have long lamented the absence of a conventional town centre. “The recent announcement by Clare County Council to refuse planning permission to build and operate a store has rightly drawn the anger and frustration of a large section of the Shannon community,” he observed. “Many are enraged that SkyCourt had submitted a seven-page document objecting to this proposed development, while shop units in the Town Centre remain boarded up due to the failure of the operators of the centre to attract new retailers,” he claimed. Councillor McKee added, “We …

MORE jobs will be coming to the Banner County before too long, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Frances Fitzgerald has said. On a visit to Ennis, the Dublin TD said that areas away from the capital are not being forgotten, despite the uneven economic recovery. “The reality is that capital cities tend to attract foreign direct investment but what this Government is saying is we want to see our regions develop. There is a huge commitment to regional development. We spent a lot of time at our Cabinet meetings discussing regional development. In Dublin, you see the problems when you have over-development in terms of transport issues and housing issues.” Roche Ireland was a stellar employer in Clarecastle for many years but is on a path towards closure but Minister Fitzgerald said the Government is doing what it can to avoid that outcome. “Everything possible is being done; the IDA are actively engaging on that issue. I’ve met …

IN examinership a few years ago, new accounts filed for Atlantic Aviation show it had a very successful 2016. The director’s report for the year states, “Since its successful exit from an examinership process in April 2015, the directors have focused on stabilising the business by growing the revenue line, improving efficiencies and reducing the cost base and continue to do so throughout 2017. “The directors are satisfied with the profitable results for the year and the outlook is positive. A number of managerial changes have taken place and the team has been strengthened in operations, marketing and HR to provide a platform for ongoing profitable growth. The company continues to produce highly-skilled staff through its in-house training academy.” The company claims that retaining its staff is very important. “A key driver in the business is the retention of staff and the directors/management are endeavouring to make Atlantic Aviation Group a better place to work in the long-term. “A ‘focus …

The Government must protect jobs in the Mid-West from the worst impacts of Brexit, Ennis Councillor Johnny Flynn has stressed. “The UK withdrawal from Europe places Irish jobs at risk; we have already seen due to the fall in value of sterling that there is a significant drop in tourists from UK. With tourism responsible for one of seven jobs in Clare I am concerned of the impact that that any plans to increase the VAT rate from 9% on tourism spend might have in Ennis and Clare.” Clare and Ennis was very badly affected by the economic collapse in 2008 with huge increase in people signing on due to job losses. By 2012 there were 10,493 people unemployed in Clare, that figure is now 6075. The number of people signing on the Live Register in Ennis district alone has dropped by 2028 from 5859 to 3389 since 2012, Mr Flynn has learned.This news comes as the CSO revealed the …

PLANS for a new €10 million 50-unit housing development at Tullyvarraga, Shannon, have effectively been put on hold, following concerns about a number of planning and design issues. Clare County Council has requested John Walsh, c/o Roy O’Shea, 20 Lower Hartstonge Street, Limerick, to submit revised plans for the development, which comprises of 10 detached, 24 semi-detached and 16 apartment units and ancillary works for a site at Tullyvarraga. The planning authority expressed concerns that the house type mix has not sufficiently been informed by the 2017-2023 Clare County Development Plan. The authority believes there is an over-provision of three-bed semi-detached dwellings and that greater consideration should be given to incorporating some single-storey dwellings. It proposed that the siting of unit number one, relative to the existing property, should be revised by relocating same closer to the second unit and by relocating the turning area closer to the eastern boundary. The authority expressed concerns about the siting of units number …