*Pictured at Áras Contae an Chláir following the appointment of design team consultants for the Ashline Link Road project are (L-R): Carmel Greene, Land Activation, Clare County Council; Julie Tiernan, Punch Consulting Engineers; Niamh Madden, Senior Executive Engineer, Clare County Council; Kieran Clohessy, Rogerson Reddan & Associates; PJ Carmody, Executive Engineer, Clare County Council; and Gordon Daly, Chief Executive, Clare County Council.
A NEW link road in Ennis is entering the design phase and could open up land with the potential for around 300 homes after Clare County Council appointed the design team for the project.
The Ashline link road is being funded through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) programme.
Punch Consulting Engineers in Limerick has been appointed as the civil and structural engineering consultant, while Rogerson Reddan & Associates Ltd has been appointed as quantity surveyors.
The proposed road will provide access to more than 8.5 hectares of land at Ashline which has been zoned for housing, as well as providing access to further lands to the north.
Clare County Council chief executive Gordon Daly said the infrastructure would have the potential to facilitate approximately 300 new homes.
“It will also provide an access point to further lands to the North and act as a catalyst for the development of this land, which has been rezoned as part of Clare County Council’s recent variation to the County Development Plan,” he said.
Director of Service for Housing Delivery, Infrastructure Provision and Land Activation Alan Farrell said the road would help support the development of starter homes, social housing and private housing.
“The new corridor is part of the work being undertaken by Clare County Council to activate housing lands that will provide for starter homes, social and private housing,” he said.
He said the project would also include cycle tracks, footpaths and pedestrian-priority measures, while allowing for future public transport improvements and better connections to greenway networks.
The design will also accommodate improved infrastructure for the adjacent school, according to Mr Farrell.
Detailed design work on the project will now commence following the appointment of the consultants.
