*Friar’s Walk.
PLANS TO DEVELOP A multi-storey car park as part of the Friar’s Walk transformational project in the Ennis 2040 strategy have been dropped but it can be reinstated if demand for car parking is established.
In the original Ennis 2040 Strategy launched in 2021, the Friar’s Walk project was to include a multi-storey car park to “provide for travel to the town centre, alongside a new bus shelter to promote and provide for public transport infrastructure”.
Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon who represented Ennis Chamber on the steering committee for Ennis 2040 prior to its publication said they first heard in 2023 that the plans for a car park adjacent to the Temple Gate Hotel were dropped.
A spokesperson for Clare County Council told The Clare Echo, “The multi-storey car park is associated with the large-scale Friars Walk development and could potentially if demand was established be delivered as part of this development subject to Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 considerations”.
“Last year Clare County Council granted planning permission for 306 new parking spaces in Ennis Town centre (156 Ennis Boys National School and 150 Cloister Car Park). Clare County Council is examining the delivery of additional parking at Waterpark House with a planning application to be lodged later this year. This is a substantial addition to parking facilities in Ennis,” the spokesperson added.
Parking was a priority during discussions according to McMahon, a former President of Ennis Chamber. “Because parking availability has long been a problem in Ennis, it was dealt with as a priority during the steering group discussions. It was clearly identified that parking spaces lost to accommodate future development and public realm works, required a multi-storey car park solution as close to the town centre as possible, as an integral part of the plan. The solution to provide a multi-storey car park beside Temple Gate Hotel was considered an ideal solution given its proximity to the town centre”.
Diarmuid said Ennis 2040 was an ambitious plan focused on keeping the town as a vibrant and attractive place to live into the future. He noted that the use of cars in regional towns across the country will not disappear anytime soon. “Critically, we simply don’t have the public transport infrastructure in place to allow for a speedy transition. Even the long-promised Ennis town bus service won’t be in place until 2025 at the earliest”.
“We therefore need to ensure there are enough parking spaces to satisfy the needs and demands of both staff and customers. It would be a great shame that the vision of the plan should unnecessarily be consumed with parking alone. The plan envisages a significant increase in the population of the town to 40,000 people. Current parking capacity, even with significant public transport and cycle / pedestrian infrastructure, would not be sufficient The solution included in the launched version of the 2040 Plan for a multi-storey car park in Temple Gate, has the potential to accommodate proposed developments elsewhere in the town centre. By pivoting away from that solution, a parking conundrum has been created along with a vacuum that is being filled by a plethora of dissenting voices. It is important that the vision and potential of the plan as a whole, is not undermined by this important single issue,” he added.
Ennis Chamber completed a Distance to Work survey of over 500 employees of town centre businesses revealed that 61.5 percent of those surveyed live more than 3km from their workplace. Only 28 of the individuals have access to private car parking, representing an approximate 5.5 percent of respondents. Findings also revealed that of the 500, 38.5 percent live within 3km of their workplace.
President of Ennis Chamber, Sheila Lynch stated, “Much as we all want to see a reduction in car use, while there continues to be a deficit in public transport infrastructure, we will continue to rely on cars as a key mode of transport in regional towns such as Ennis, and therefore we will depend on parking being available to meet those needs and demands”.
While the survey was carried out by Ennis Chamber, to provide data for the Area Based Transport Assessment (ABTA), it was inspired by a meeting with Ennis 2040 and Ennis Municipal District senior administrators earlier this year when it was made apparent that Abbey Street and Parnell Street car parks, were to be subject to extensive development as part of the evolving Ennis 2040 Strategy.
“We knew from talking with our town centre members that many of their employees live a considerable distance from work, but we also knew we couldn’t rely on anecdotal information and hence the survey was launched, to garner facts,” Sheila said.
Only two of the car parking solutions put forward by Clare County Council, in lieu of projected lost parking at Abbey Street and Parnell Street car parks, and on-street, lost due to urban regeneration works, are permanent solutions. One of those – The Cloister Car Park – is in the private ownership of Clare GAA. The other is for 80 spaces at Waterpark House, Drumbiggle Road, owned by Clare County Council. Sheila added “Many of our members fear that the parking needs of our town, for both staff and customers will not be satisfied going forward and the vibrancy and economic health of our town will be negatively impacted.”
The view of Ennis Chamber is that Ennis needs and deserves an Ennis 2040 Plan to shape its future and to leverage investment, balanced with a need for immediate local frequent public transport, safe cycle and pedestrian access for those that live close enough to the town and a permanent parking fix that gives easy access to the town centre, to guarantee its future vibrancy and footfall.
