CONCERNS for the protected Lesser Horse-Shoe Bat and rodent disturbance have helped stall plans to transform a site containing a dilapidated 19th century psychiatric hospital in Ennis into a large-scale residential scheme.
This follows Clare County Council putting on hold plans by Kilkenny firm, Walsh & Sheehan OLE Investments Limited to construct the 171 residential unit scheme as part of a mixed use proposal on the site of the former Our Lady’s Hospital on Ennis’s Gort Rd.
The protected hospital building – first known as the County Clare Lunatic Asylum – was completed in 1868 and continued later as Our Lady’s Psychiatric Hospital until 2002 and has been vacant and neglected since.
A design statement lodged with the application states that the proposal “seeks to regenerate this underutilised and historically significant site through a high-quality mixed-use development”.
The Design Statement states that “the design strategy is based on the sensitive reuse and reactivation of the former hospital campus”.
It states that the main hospital building and existing outbuildings are retained and refurbished to provide 100 residential units, securing a viable long-term use for the historic buildings while preserving their architectural and material character.
As part of the application, the developers have applied for a Derogation Licence under EU habitats regulations to allow it to redevelop buildings on the site that are used by the likes of the EU protected Lesser Horseshoe Bat.
In the further information letter, the council has told the applicants that while copies of the Derogation Licence applications for the Church and Main Building have been submitted with the application, the council cannot grant permission until the Derogation Licence applications are granted.
The council has also told the applicants that the mitigation measures outlined in the application for the bats are generic in nature and there is significant concern regarding the feasibility of their implementation and their effectiveness.
The planners have also told the applicants that the proposed development, including substantial site clearance, groundworks and demolition works, “have the potential to displace a high number of rodents into the surrounding area”.
The council states that the two Derogation Licences applications lodged with the plan indicate that no rodenticides will be used on the site due to the potential impact of the rodenticides on the bat species present on the site.
The council state that “this issue must be actively managed by the applicant to ensure that the development works do not impact negatively on public health and the amenities of nearby residents/occupiers”.
The council state that a ‘Rodent and Pest Management Plan is required and the plan must be prepared in consultation with the project ecologist.
The scheme has not faced any opposition from local residents and in a submission the Heritage Council has stated that it welcomes the proposed conservation-led regeneration of the former Our Lady’s Hospital complex.
Chief Executive Officer of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan told the council that “the development presents an important opportunity to secure the long-term future of a significant heritage asset in Ennis through repair, conservation and adaptive reuse while contributing to compact growth, brownfield regeneration and the re-use of existing building stock.”
Once the applicants have provided replies to the eight points of further information across three pages, the application will become ‘live’ before the council once more.
