*Photograph: John Mangan
A FIERY DEBATE saw councillors vote against pausing plans for a €25m development on Abbey Street car park in Ennis which was equated to “a box”.
Accusations of attempts to silence, shouting councillors and rising tensions formed part of the eighty minute plus debate at Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District.
Among the figures gathered in the public gallery were Ennis 2040 Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Corrigan, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND), Abbey Street traders Martin O’Brien, Noel Tierney, Tommy O’Donnell, Tony Honan, Feargal Ó Dualaing and Dervilla Evans. Notably the vote on the request to pause the plans for the development was not taken until after the public gallery had cleared.
Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) and Cllr Pat Daly (FF) requested Ennis 2040 to rethink its plans to build a multistorey mixed use building on the Abbey Street public car park. “In the current period of cost of living crisis, the proposed long term loss of a large number of adjacent scarce public car-parking and potentially up to two year business disruption due to building construction works in the car park the ratepayers fear if the proposal goes ahead would result in further retail and hospitality business closures, job losses and increased vacancy on Abbey Street and surrounding area”.
Carmel Kirby, Director of Services with the Council said the strategy was completed by international experts on behalf of the local authority following two years of study, analysis and extensive stakeholder consultations with local representatives, communities and businesses. “The Ennis 2040 strategy envisages that the population of Ennis will grow on average by 1.6% per annum to approximately 37,000 people by 2040. Furthermore, the plan proposes the prioritisation of sustainable economic activities by focusing on existing assets and creating a competitive offer unique to Ennis that will deliver an additional 5,000 jobs by 2040”.
On the plans for Abbey Street, she stated, “Whilst I appreciate the concerns of the business community in the area, the proposed commercial development on Abbey St is anticipated to increase footfall in the town by 20,000 per week, create over 100 direct jobs, and will support multiples of indirect jobs in the locality. Although the development of the site will result in the decommissioning of 126 car parking spaces at that location, between planning granted in 2022 and planning currently being sought, there will be 499 additional car parking spaces provided (GAA Site in Cusack Park, Ennis Boys National School Site, Waterpark Campus and Francis Street site). The public bus service will also be in place in 2025 which will free up a considerable number of car parking spaces”.
Addressing Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr O’Callaghan remarked, “Tom says no to a box on Abbey St car park, period. Have we not looked at other potential locations, you have to have a location and a product but you have to have parking, if you do not have parking, then you cannot go into retail. I’m fully behind the strategy but we have the walkway and other side of the river which can be delivered”. He suggested a corner of the Post Office field be used instead of the car park. “It is the people behind the counter that make the heart of the town,” he added.
Plans for a temporary car park in Francis St were disappointing, he said. “Car parking is a huge issue. We all want a green agenda, Tom O’Callaghan included, people will be slow to change, we will be driving vehicles whether it’s on hairdryers or whatever, we have to ensure this is done correctly, we do not want a Market 2 in this town, let’s get this right, I believe very strongly that the retailers have to be protected but we have to protect the rest of the county, get Ennis right and the whole county benefits. We do not want a box on Abbey St car park. We need 2000 car parking spaces. As long as I’m sitting in the Chamber, will do everything I can to ensure a box is not built”.
Surveys referenced by Cllr Flynn included that 77 percent of shoppers to Ennis travel by car, “if they can’t get in for short-term spend, they will go somewhere else”. He stressed he was completed opposed to building on the car park in the town centre. He said he read the full document from front to back six times and that the Abbey St plans were “a very expensive concept”.
Ennis should not be comparing itself to cities, Cllr Flynn said. “We don’t need a temporary car park in Francis St to cover up what is happening in Abbey St. We need housing, let’s put roofs over people’s heads,” he commented.
As “a unique town with narrow streets,” Ennis is dependent on parking, Cllr Daly maintained. “Since I came into politics parking in the town has been the biggest issue,” he outlined. “What happened with Abbey St for Fleadh Cheoil was fantastic, it’s sad to hear we’re going to build on a car park, I’m totally against it, it’s criminal, there’s plenty of sites we could develop, there’s a corner of the post office field that could be used. We’re democratically elected, my views are not political, they are for the improvement and development of Ennis. It will be dead and gone if we go ahead with this, leave the streets alone”.
Early wins of the strategy including the addition of 72 jobs through the Ballymaley site for Vitalograph and acquiring the Francis St site were referenced by the Director. She told the meeting a town bus service for Ennis will be on stream in 2025. The Abbey Street project will create 100 direct jobs plus 200 in construction, she said. The Director disputed figures put forward that there is a deficit of 2000 car parking spaces in Ennis and said 42 of the customer based car spaces in Abbey St are being used by staff working with businesses in the town centre. The parking situation in Ennis is better than Waterford and Navan and is on par with Kilkenny, she argued.
Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) said the figures given by the Director disputed what had been said by fellow councillors. “What has been put out in the public domain on €1.1m waste at Francis St is erroneous, it will definitely include housing, to suggest we’re wasting public funds on temporary car park is untrue, 60% of costs incurred will be preparatory works. To suggest we have a greenfield site and have development ongoing with people living there is preposterous”.
“All of this can be solved, just move the box,” Cllr O’Callaghan responded. “You might be beginning to feel a wind on your cheek from the people in the gallery but if you proceed with this, it will be a storm,” he warned. He added, “the decisions we make today are detrimental to the future if they are done wrong”.
Cllr Flynn disputed the figures given by the Director on car parking. “It’s a simple thing, there’s a derelict site on the other side of the river,” he said in reference to the Abbey St development. “There’s a bit of victim blaming, we collected €1.2m to provide car parking spaces for staff, no wonder there are business permits, people have to get into their permit to operate”.
Mistakes made in building “a white elephant in the Market” cannot be repeated, Cllr Daly warned. Mayor Colleran Molloy said she objected to the use of the term box, “that is so incredibly oversimplistic and derogatory”.
Both Colleran Molloy and Flynn then became involved in a tête-à-tête over standing orders after the Mayor tried to wrap up the discussion. A slight shouting match ensued with Flynn attempting to speak and the Mayor trying to proceed by moving onto the next item in the agenda. Flynn stated, “I feel there is an attempt to silence” and was then asked if he wanted to “say something substantive” by the Mayor when given the floor.
After initially trying to move on with the meeting, members in the public gallery were led to believe the discussion was finished. However, moments later senior officials in the Council pointed out that the motions had not a seconder and a vote was taken.
At this juncture, a vote was called where the call to pause the development was defeated 4-3.
Neither Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Ann Norton (IND) or Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) commented throughout the entire Abbey St debate.
HOW THEY VOTED:
Motion asking that Ennis Municipal District request Ennis 2040 to rethink its plans to build a multistorey mixed use building on the Abbey Street public car park –
FOR: Cllr Pat Daly (FF), Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF)
AGAINST: Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF), Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), Cllr Ann Norton (IND)
