ST JOSEPH’S Miltown Malbay have submitted further information as they look to construct a new training pitch, storage shed and extension of an existing service road at Spanish Point Secondary School.
The 2018 and 2019 back to back Clare Senior Football Champions were ordered to produce the information by Clare County Council after the local authority expressed concern over planned excavations, surfacewater levels and the privacy of dwellings located close to the site.
According to the application cover letter, the proposed development is a joint venture by the GAA club and local secondary school, St Joseph’s Spanish Point and will be located on the West Clare school’s grounds. The proposed development will be built on an existing greenfield site at the school which is located in close proximity to several houses on either side.
Clare County Council had highlighted this in its request for further information, informing the applicant that they are “requested to outline measures to ensure that the privacy of these dwellings would be adequately protected. In addition, you are requested to outline what measures are proposed to reduce the potential for balls from the playing pitch entering these properties”.
Miltown based planning consultants McKenna Consulting Engineers have submitted the required further information in accordance with the council’s request, stating that “Along this northwest boundary we have allowed for a proposed fenceline including a proposed hedge line for privacy/screening. The dwellings to the south of the site are screened by virtue of the proposed pitch level of 27.750m and the ground level adjacent of approximately 30m with boundary wall screening the houses south of the proposed pitch”.
The pitch will be self-draining to address any surface water levels concerns with 4.6 cubic metres of material planned to be used to fill in the necessary excavation and no materials to be exported off site.
Miltown Malbay GAA currently use Patrick Hennessy Memorial Park in the town for playing and training, a historic Clare GAA ground which has hosted many county football finals and intercounty matches down through the years, so named for Patrick Henessy, a young Clare and Miltown footballer murdered by British forces on April 14th 1920.
The proposed development has received two objections so far from local residents including Joan Kelly O’Rourke of Woodbine Heights on the development’s northern boundary. The Spanish Point resident expressed concern over the planned use of an access road to the site, saying “I am deeply concerned about the impact of increased traffic, especially heavy trucks and construction vehicles, will have during the construction phase and beyond. It is going to cause significant disruption”.
“Beyond the immediate disruption, I am also worried about the long term environmental impact on the field itself and surrounding wildlife. This area is a haven for birds, local creatures and native plants and I fear that the development will negatively affect their habitat”, she continued.
Couple John and Brigid Hehir also made a submission that highlighted traffic concerns, explaining that “The local approach road that will be used for construction is extremely narrow and does not safely accommodate two way vehicle movement. The road is too narrow for cars to pass each other safely”.
Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the development by the 10th of September.
