PLANS to transform a ruined 18th century manor into a 19 room hotel have been lodged with Clare County Council.
A Mr Kevin Quinn has submitted plans for a new hotel at the site. The manor was built in 1760 and was formerly a small hotel business, now acting as a protected structure.
Atlantis Developments then acquired the property with €25 million plan for a five star complex before going bust.
The new plans project a major development of the derelict house, aiming to carry out “Internal refurbishment to existing protected structure of main house and structural alterations to main house, to stabilize existing structure and exclude rainwater ingress”. Construction of a 2 storey extension to the current property is also planned in order to the balance the new front elevation of the proposed development.
A new function room, café building and walled garden are also included in the plans. A new car park with 63 spaces is also planned for the development, along with a “Photo-voltaic Panel array area, waste water treatment plant and a new service road running to the rear of the walled garden”. The manor is one of a number of historic buildings in the Quin area, alongside Knappogue Castle, Quin Castle and Quin Abbey.
An Economic Impact Analysis Statement is included with the application that states that the proposed development “can deliver significant economic and community benefits”, to the surrounding area. The statement predicts that the project will generate employment for 10 to 15 full time staff, as well as generating roughly €292,000 in annual room revenue.
The statement also highlights the spin-off benefits associated with a sizeable investment such as this, pointing out that “With new employment, underemployed locals might move to better-paying jobs or get more hours. The overall wage level in the community can rise slightly due to the injection of hotel-related payroll. Households experiencing this uplift might have more ability to save or invest in their homes”.
Owing to the historical nature of the site, an archaeological assessment was carried out as part of the planning process. The majority of test trenching conducted at the property uncovered nothing of note, except for a “mortar-lined hollow sealed beneath a field boundary east of the main complex”.
Archaeological analysis indicated that the majority of the proposed development would be able to proceed as planned except for construction of a services building as this “will negatively impact the mortar lined hollow”. The analysis recommends the potential relocation of the services building, something which the planning department are likely to pick up on and potentially halt the development over.
Negative results from a bat survey carried out on site also has the potential to cause headaches for developers. The survey by Bat Eco Services Ltd found that the proposed main renovations may “result in the loss of a lesser horseshoe bat maternity roost and potential loss of the maternity roost of brown long-eared bat and satellite roosts for Natterer’s bat and soprano pipistrelles”. Future renovation of the site’s stables, pump house and removal of trees was also recommended against due to the potential impacts on lesser horseshoe bats and their roosts.
Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the development by the 28th of July. Members of the public can issue submissions up until July 7th.
