A TEMPORARY CAR PARK is to be built on Francis St in Ennis at a cost of €1m after elected representatives for the county town voted 4-3 in favour of the property’s disposal.
The Clare Echo first reported in October that a block of cottages on Francis St had been acquired by Clare County Council as part of the Ennis 2040 Strategy with an interim car park the intended use.
Initially on the market for €700,000, a deal for the block of six cottages was agreed before Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon put the properties on sale at auction.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, a Section 183 to dispose of the lands and buildings was passed by the smallest of margins (4-3). The proposed purchaser of the lands is the Ennis 2040 DAC, a company which was set up by Clare County Council for the development and implementation of the Ennis 2040 Strategy. €1.1m was the proposed price for the disposal.
Ennis 2040 in partnership with Clare County Council want to progress the site firstly for temporary car parking use and then as a mixed-use development site.
Conditions attached to the disposal include the purchaser paying the Council’s legal costs of the transfer, a planning application to be made within six months of the transfer for an interim car park and a planning application to be made within four years of the close of sale for the redevelopment of the site. This was proposed by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) and seconded by Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF).
Plans for a three storey retail and office block are mooted for the Abbey Street car park which is forecast to have a potential cost of €25m and result in the loss of 80 car parking spaces.
Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) lodged a counter-proposal and opposed the building of an interim car park at the location, “why spend over €1m building an interim car park whereas there is another €25m proposal to build on Abbey St car park. The Abbey Street car park proposal is the wrong thing to do”. He said the Francis St site was the “right location for development unlike what is proposed for Abbey St car park”. Flynn suggested the office element for Abbey St be located at the Francis St site and the retail element at the Briarlane site on Harmony Row adjacent to the Rowan Tree Hostel.
Aspirations of Ennis 2040 were fully supported by Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) but he admitted he had “huge concerns for existing retail” as a result of the plans for Abbey Street. He stressed the need to protect car parking spaces in the town. “We need bodies on the ground, retail can only work on the basis of people being able to get to the points and the outlet”. He was concerned with “the money involved” for a temporary car park. “I fully embrace taking over the site and bringing in new life whether it be a hotel or shops but I’m totally against the two pronged approach, what is going to happen in Abbey Street based on the development. Protect the existing sites that we already have in Abbey Street”.
Progress of the strategy was acknowledged by Cllr Pat Daly (FF) but he said the plans for Abbey St should be instead what is earmarked for Francis St. “Building on a car park in a traditional rural town like Ennis is a disaster, over the years Parnell St & Abbey St developed, the most important people in a town are the business person, the customer and the parking. I’m supporting a development, you have the library, glór and follow through on Francis St, go ahead with it on Francis St with all the big stores there”. He said he would be “very worried” for Abbey Street into the future if the car park was altered.
Senior executive officer, Leonore O’Neill advised councillors that the Section 183 proposal “specifically relates” to Francis St and that any amendments or conditions “does not automatically drive a different agenda for Abbey Street. The removal of the condition to apply for temporary parking does not affect the Abbey St redevelopment, it is important that the two projects are not confused as one being conditional on the other. What’s before you today is disposal for Francis St and Francis St only”.
Councillors “need to focus on what is in front of us today,” said Cllr Ann Norton (IND). “The opportunities that will arise from Ennis 2040 developing the lands on Francis St will be very progressive, they are being very wise in the way they are looking at long-term and seeing how the town develops and making sure the right development goes on this particular site, we are aware it is interim car parking so that the site will be used for something rather than being left derelict for a number of years, we need to focus on what is in front of us today and I think the proposal should be carried”.
“I’ve given this careful consideration and I’m supporting the transfer today, I’m looking at what is in front of me and I’ll be going with that,” commented Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) who had the deciding vote.
Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Colleran Molloy asked for Director of Services, Carmel Kirby to give an input. “This is completing the transfer to Ennis 2040, the purchase was completed months ago with view to transferring,” she said. Ms Kirby added, “It’s really important and I’m very conscious of the asks to provide additional parking, it is really important to use the available sites and develop them before they are ready for economic development”.
Ballymaley and Francis St were not initially among the nine transformational projects for the Ennis 2040 Strategy but “flexibility” was shown, Cllr Flynn noted. He called for a similar approach to be followed regarding Francis St and Abbey St. “We shouldn’t build on top of car parking. This proposal is looking at creating 100 spaces in Francis St and people will walk to Abbey Street, I believe it is wrong. Any proposal putting in an interim car park is a waste of public money”.
Proposal to dispose of lands at Francis St, Ennis, Co Clare:
FOR: Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Ann Norton (IND), Cllr Paul Murphy (FG)
AGAINST: Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Pat Daly (FF).
