A Limerick-based architecture firm has lodged plans for fifty-four houses in Ennis.
The large housing development is planned by Arnold Leahy Architects for a site on the Gort Road, close to the Auburn Lodge and Al Hayes motors.
The development encompasses the townlands of Dulick and Knockaderry. The area is zoned for development as part of the Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029. A linear park is planned for the development which will create a commuting corridor for bats and other wildlife native to the area.
The mixed housing development is planned to include four dethatched houses, eight semi-detached houses, eighteen terrace houses and twenty-four Duplex units. A new road to access the development is also planned that will join Oakleigh Wood road to Ballycorey road, along with the construction of a new footpath and widening of the Ballycorey road.
As the site is located close to Ballyalla lake, there will be significant environmental interest in the development. An appropriate assessment habitat screening found that Spanish Bluebells are present at the site. The Spring flowering plants are an invasive species and could potentially spread during the course of the development. Invasive species are identified as a major pressure and threat to biodiversity in general and within woodlands and waterways in particular.
The report states that “there is an onus upon the developer to prevent its spread. In the absence of any mitigation measures, there is a potential for this plant to spread beyond the boundary of the development site, particularly during the construction phase, when the movement of machinery could transport plant fragments”.
“Due to the proximity of the Lower River Shannon SAC and the Ballyalla Lake SAC, significant effects to this area cannot be ruled out”, the report continues.
The site is also located close to the Limerick-Galway rail line and had a noise risk assessment carried out by Dalton Acoustics. The report found that “the inhabitants will have access to a quiet external area that is screened by the proposed development itself from rail and other noise sources. All habitable rooms will achieve a good internal noise environment without the requirement for specific additional acoustic treatments to the building envelopes”.
The proposed development is yet to receive any objections. Submissions can be made until the 17th of June 2025. Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the development by the 8th of July.
