PLANNERS in Ennis are scratching their heads as to why a well-known developer has lodged two almost identical applications for a €40 million retail park.

The need to end the gridlock at city’s key road junction has intensified, writes Sean O’Riordan

THE European Court of Justice has ruled that Ireland is in breach of an EU directive setting out how potentially dangerous developments are assessed for likely environmental effects before planning permission is granted.

ONE of the busiest coastguard units in the country yesterday urged Clare County Council to continue “as a matter or urgency” its €6 million pier plan for Doolin.

CLARE County Council has come under fire for giving the go-ahead to contentious plans for a €40 million hospital in Ennis.

PROTECTED slugs which forced the redesign of a €200 million bypass are to be moved from certain areas along the route after An Bord Pleanála gave the road project the green light.

THE hotel element of a €460 million sports and leisure complex planned for a rural site in Tipperary will not go ahead if a proposed casino is not allowed, promoters have confirmed.

A COMMUNITY which fought long and hard for a motorway connection is about to see “all its dreams come true” next Monday when plans for a junction connection are unveiled.

THE multi-million dollar Breeders’ Cup racing fixture could leave the United States and come to Ireland if a sporting and leisure complex gets the go-ahead, according to champion trainer Aidan O’Brien.

MAJOR players in the horseracing and leisure fields are expected today to publicly back a proposed €460 million hotel, casino and entertainment venue on an 800-acre rural site.

PLANS for a major retail development in the west Clare town of Miltown Malbay have been thrown out by a local authority.

THE setting up of a seaplane service from a pontoon on the Shannon near Limerick city centre has come under fire from rowers.

A FARMER who came to prominence after a multi-million euro land deal has failed in a bid to stop a couple building a family home on a neighbouring site.

AN APPEAL by the Department of the Environment against a Clare community’s decision to build a graveyard extension on the outskirts of Ennis “is unwarranted and heavy handed”.

HERITAGE body An Taisce has objected to plans to revamp one of Co Cork’s best-known hotels.

PLANS by Met Éireann to relocate the air monitoring part of its operations in south Kerry onto Valentia Island to avail of a cleaner environment have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

THE 10-year battle over Ireland’s first toxic waste incinerator raises questions about the decision-making processes, a leading environmental law expert has said.

AFTER a decade-long struggle through the planning and legal system, the key figures fighting plans for the country’s first toxic waste incinerator were expecting more bad news yesterday.

LOCALS in the Cork Harbour village of Ringaskiddy have been celebrating that an incinerator won’t be built in their midst.