Multiple means to engage with new development plan
April 20, 2021
AN online consultation portal alongside videos, webinars and public events are just some of the measures Clare County Council has developed in a bid to encourage public engagement with the preparation of the Clare County Development Plan 2022-2028.
Details of the communication methods, which will also include traditional and social media, were released at a meeting of Clare County Council, at which Councillor PJ Ryan stressed the importance of keeping the public informed on changes to the plan.
The councillor urged the Council to “put in place a robust communication system to inform people whose property status changes in the new county development plan and also communicate with communities where alternative energy zoning is under consideration”.
Concerns continue over main arterial route to West Clare
March 15, 2021
A FIVE-YEAR programme to address the condition of one of West Clare’s main arterial routes has been called for, amid ongoing concerns at changes to speed limits on the N68. Reductions at a number of points on the road from Kilrush to Ennis were introduced in 2019, meaning there are 11 different speed zones on the route. At the West Clare Municipal District meeting last week, these concerns prompted a Kilrush-based councillor to consider voting against the Schedule of Municipal District Works.
The programme was unveiled by Senior Engineer, John Leahy and described by Director of Services Leonard Cleary as “a very, very good result for West Clare”. There was a welcome, generally, for the fact that €34.5 million has been allocated for the county, but Councillor Ian Lynch said that the condition of the N68 from Kilrush to Ennis caused him to think twice before giving his backing to the schedule of works.
PUP numbers drop as trade steps up Share
THE amount of Clare people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment dipped significantly between December 8 and 15.
Clare’s economy has apparently benefited from the loosening of Covid-19 restrictions and increased spending close to Christmas, with the number of people receiving the payment dropping by more than 800 in a week from 7,398 to 6,539.
The weeks before Christmas are the busiest time of the year for retailers, and in Ennis Liam Meaney, the manager of men’s clothes shop Club Dangan on O’Connell Street, said that business has been quite brisk of late. “Thankfully trade has been very good since we came back, we can’t complain at all, we’re delighted with it.