OVER 50 parking spaces are to be provided on a temporary basis at the Old Boys National School in Ennis for the Christmas shopping period.
Officials within the Ennis Municipal District on Tuesday evening confirmed that the site which was acquired by Ennis 2040 DAC in September would be utilised in a temporary capacity to offer parking for shoppers in the county town over the festive period.
In excess of fifty spaces will be available, the local authority confirmed. Additional car parking will be provided daily from 8am to 8pm effective from Saturday December 6th until Monday January 5th.
Ennis 2040 DAC purchased the 4.2 acre site for €3.1m following an independent valuation. It is zoned as a large mixed-use development including commercial, residential, and retail with car parking.
At the October meeting of the Ennis MD, Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF) was the first to suggest utilising the Old Boys National School as a car park over the Christmas period. “It is lying idle and it would be a valuable asset to allow people to come in to Ennis and shop. It wouldn’t take a lot to turn that into a temporary car park and I think it would be a great idea”. Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) agreed that it was “a fantastic idea, embrace what we have but increase the footfall”.
Then senior engineer, Seán Lenihan was reluctant such an aspiration could be achieved. “It would require a fair bit of work at the Boys National School site, it is not just a case of opening a gate, you can’t bring them in without the risk and we cannot have injuries”. He added, “there are 180 spaces proposed as part of that overall development, we’ve just acquired the site”.
