Opponents to hospital plan given chance to air views

OPPONENTS to a €40 million private hospital on the outskirts of Ennis will soon get an opportunity to voice their opposition against the plan in a public forum.

An Bord Pleanála yesterday confirmed it is to hold an oral hearing in relation to the plan by Pat Bonner and John Stack for the 100-bed hospital at Woodstock.

The board has yet to confirm when the oral hearing will take place.

Last year, members of Clare County Council voted 28 to 3 in favour of the rezoning at the Ennis site which gave developers the green light for the plan.

The council’s planners backed approval after the developers reduced the scale of the proposal.

The overall hospital floor area was reduced from 20,729 square metres to 15,367sq m which represented a 26% reduction.

Local residents Paul and Geraldine Donnelly of Shanaway Road along with Matt and Bernadette Power, have appealed the decision along with Shane Flanagan.

According to consultant Brendan McGrath, employed by Mr Flanagan, it would be absolute folly to locate the private hospital at a remote, car dependent site at Woodstock on the outskirts of the town.

In his appeal, Mr McGrath said the decision to grant planning permission “would seriously impair the capacity of Ennis to achieve a more sustainable urban form”.

He said: “To a lesser extent than many other medium sized towns, Ennis has retained a dominant centre and a potential to develop into a large town with a sustainable land use transportation pattern. Granting planning for this development would seriously undermine that aspiration.”

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.