*Pat Dowling. Photograph: Paul Corey
CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling has the “potholes” encountered so far with the Ennis 2040 strategy will be overcome.
Opposition to plans associated with the economic and spatial strategy resulted in the establishment of the non-political and voluntary community group, Save Ennis Town (SET).
In October, SET submitted a petition with 3,500 signatures against the proposed riverside developments on Abbey Street car park and Harvey’s Quay (Parnell Street car park) to the Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Pat Daly (FF).
Pat Dowling was appointed Chief Executive of the County Council in September 2016 for a seven-year term with the option of a three-year extension which this year he informed the Department of Local Government and the Public Appointments Service that he wished to avail.
When asked by The Clare Echo was he surprised with the level of backlash received to Ennis 2040 given all the strategies he has been involved with, Dowling responded, “That is terminology I wouldn’t use. Everybody has a right to express their view and object to plans, Ennis 2040 was endorsed by members of Clare County Council as a way forward, we’re now trying to implement that way forward for the town of Ennis”.
Dowling was responsible for the nomination of the nine board members to the Ennis 2040 DAC, it includes the Council’s Director of Economic Development Carmel Kirby and Head of Finance Noeleen Fitzgerald plus Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Mary Howard (FG) and Cllr Ann Norton (IND).
Speaking at the announcement of a new deal between the Council and Clare GAA for the delivery of 200 car parking spaces in the Cloister car park, he stated, “What we’re doing here with a car park is in many ways separate because any development we may do in Abbey Street or any other place in Ennis town is a number of years away, proper planning and consultation has to be entered in to and that will take a number of years.
“People have a right to express their view and many people have a right to say they don’t like change but my job as Chief Executive of Clare County Council is to make Clare a better county, to make its capital town of Ennis economically viable into the future where people can live and work, a town that is user friendly, that is important and collectively we will all find a way to reach consensus to go forward in the betterment for everybody, along that journey there will be some potholes that we have to deal with along the way, I’m happy that we will end up going the one direction in due course”.
Addition of the 200 car parking spaces plus plans for the development of 136 car parking spaces in Waterpark House was not done to counter the arguments put forward by those opposed to the riverside developments that Ennis does not have an adequate supply of car parking options presently, he said.
Kilkee based Dowling said, “Ennis 2040 has its own programme and strategic objectives, we will continue to progress that to the best of our ability through proper planning and proper consultation, this is a side related project in many ways that came about in a different context. This is a facility of 200 spaces so close to the town centre which is a unique feature and we should value it, not many towns can say they have such a facility in such a primary location, we’re very fortunate to have that, we saw an opportunity clearly which was not in anyway to counter any of the other arguments that are in place, we still wish to continue the town and Ennis as a progressive town as any in the Mid-West, that will continue but this does add value to our overall objectives”.
