*Artist’s impression from Golf Links of the proposed development.
PLANS for Ennis’ largest single housing development have been lodged within the past week.
Glenveagh Homes Limited have applied for planning permission for a large-scale residential development comprising of 300 houses.
Located within the town lands of Ballymacaula, Drumbiggle, Keelty and Circular Road in Ennis, the development also includes an 80-child creche, parking, open spaces, play areas, footpaths, cycleways, landscaping, lighting and a vehicular access point onto Circular Road.
Among the 300 houses are 31 four-beds, 164 three-beds, 92 two-beds and 14 bungalows.
In August 2022, Glenveagh Homes lodged plans for a €65m 289 unit scheme via the Strategic Housing Development Scheme. An Bord Pleanála gave the green light for the proposal in April 2023 despite Clare County Council recommending a refusal.
That June, a case was brought to the High Court by Kilfenora resident, Michael Duffy seeking to overturn the decision of the planning authority. He had claimed there was multiple errors in the decision including a failure to consider the Ennis local area plan. He argued that An Bord Pleanála acted irrationally and unreasonably when forming its decision.
As part of the new plans for 300 houses. The majority of houses in the estate will be four and three bedroom properties with a small number being single bedrooms.
Inclusion of the crèche accommodating 80 children is the result of a survey carried out by the developers. There are already 13 childcare providers in the area. The proposed creche is designed to accommodate for the large number of families the proposed development could attract, with the survey concluding “the proposed eighty childcare spaces in the creche are therefore more than sufficient to cater for the proposed development and the expected demand for childcare spaces”.
The vacant site earmarked for the development is located close to the circular road with three pedestrian connections to the N85 planned, along with two pedestrian connections to the current Ballymacaula View estate at the Beechpark Roundabout.
Part of the land for the development is owned by Clare County Council, who have given their consent to the development. Under a Part V application, 20% of the properties in the estate will be reserved for social housing. A number of open green spaces are planned throughout the development with trees providing shade and visual amenities to the estate.
A children’s playground is planned for one of the spaces featuring slides and a climbing frame as well as outdoor gym equipment for adults.
A demographic profile of the local area found that there had been an increase in population in recent years. The survey’s findings concluded that “the identified study area had a population of 24,714 persons in the 2022 census. This represented an increase of 2,043 persons or 9%, on the 2016 census population of 22,671 persons”.
Sustainability concerns have also been addressed for the eleven hectare site. Homes in the estate will be heated by air source heat pumps, designed to limit heat loss and avail of heat gain through the fabric of the building where possible. Twin EV charging hubs containing ten individual EV chargers each will also be included as part of the development.
The proposed development has been designed to bring about “a distinctive streetscape with feature corner units, varying widths of streets, shared surface/pedestrian links and alternative parking formations to provide a vision of placemaking”. The development aims to reduce its impact on the surrounding area despite its large size by retaining the existing trees and hedgerows where possible.
Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the development by the 24th of August 2025. Members of the public can make submissions to the Council until August 3rd.
