*Photograph: John Mangan
BUSINESS OWNERS at one of the county’s main hubs of employment have voiced their frustration, claiming the common land of the Quin Road Business Park “was sold behind our backs to a complete stranger”.
Plans of the Shannon Airport Group and its property wing, Shannon Commercial Properties to sell its 4.9 acre site and the management of the estate services and infrastructure were first reported by The Clare Echo in November. The land had been acquired by Shannon Development in 1979.
Shannon Airport Group had been responsible for the management and maintenance of services at the Quin Road Business Park in Ennis including public lighting, footpaths, and roads. It did not own or lease any buildings in the vicinity.
A slight delay in the sale was forced following the coverage in The Clare Echo and after the matter was flagged by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) firstly and then Michael McNamara TD (IND).
Correspondence dated February 17th was issued to tenants and business owners by solicitors representing Shannon Commercial Properties whereby they were advised that the subsidiary of Shannon Group had “disposed of its interest” at the Quin Rd Business Park which included the common areas and revisionary interests.
The Clare Echo understands that Shannon Commercial Properties sold their interests to a Galway company.
Barry O’Driscoll of Clare Self Storage told The Clare Echo, “We’re very disappointed that the common area was sold from under us, we’ve had businesses here for the last twenty years and we have paid several hundreds of thousands if not over a million in commercial fees to Shannon Commercial Properties. This has been sold behind our back to a complete stranger, we feel let down, we have interests in this Business Park and we should have been consulted”.
For the past thirteen years, Barry’s Self Storage business has been based on the Quin Rd. “We would be concerned about the sewerage station which processes waste from the businesses and Bruach na h’Abhainn and if anything goes wrong, who is going to look after it. What will our fees be going into the future at a time of increased costs and higher inflation”.
Similar concerns were expressed by another well-established business man, “it is the unknown, we don’t know what will happen if there is an issue with the pumping station, who is going to be responsible for it now”.
Ennis Carpets has been in operation for over 45 years, the last sixteen of which have been in the Quin Rd Business Park. Manager of Ennis Carpets, Pat McDaid was also critical over the level of engagement for business owners. “There was no consultation at all, worrying rather than frustrating because you don’t know what the next step is and we don’t know how it will affect us. Surely, the County Council will step in, that seemed the obvious solution but this is two Government bodies and one selling out to whoever, that is the thing”.
McDaid continued, “We’ve built the business up over many years, we’re sixteen years in this estate and it’s very daunting for everyone concerned and every business owner here. The amount of families and livelihoods in Co Clare that could be affected by this decision is huge, no one has highlighted that so far, if this goes wrong, how many people could be affected”.
Increased charges are among the fears of business personnel within the Quin Rd Business Park. “Huge charges against companies in here for the upkeep of them legally by unscrupulous people, that would be the biggest worry. You would hope it wouldn’t happen and that sense might prevail so that we could all work through this. Running a business is difficult enough at the moment, it’s not a straight forward task at all because we all have headaches,” Pat said.
“We’d have fifteen sub-contractors looking for a wage out of here every week between staff here, staff measuring, carpenters, carpet fitters and contract fitters, they would all be affected if this changed. I hope Clare County Council steps in and sense prevails,” he added.
One of the most recently renovated buildings in the Business Park belongs to Clare County Council and is used as the Clare Civil Defence HQ and also the location of the remote working hub operated by DigiClare. “Regarding the Quin Road Campus, any commercial rates and services charges that apply to the building are paid by Clare County Council,” a spokesperson told The Clare Echo regarding potential rate changes it might incur as a result of the sale.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport Group defended the level of consultation carried out in advance of the sale. “Quin Road Business Park was extensively advertised for sale on the open market from the 16th October 2022, including Daft.ie and through a local auctioneering firm with a substantial advertising sign erected at the site from Oct. The sale closed on the 17th February and the new owner is in the process of meeting with tenants at the site.”
