Over 300 people have attended rally in Ennis, Co Clare to oppose plans to build on public two car parks in the town centre.
The Ennis 2040 plan has been described as ‘transformative’ with the promise of jobs, houses and amenities for the town.
Campaigners say the multi-million project will destroy civic amenities and wipe out small businesses.
At the protest, local traders were vocal in their opposition to the proposed new plan.
The ‘Save Ennis Town’ is a community group of local traders and business people who say the town’s civic amenities will be destroyed if the riverside car parks on Abbey Street and Parnell Street go ahead.
Chairman of the group Gearóid Mannion said: “Public parking is essential for people who come into Ennis to visit and shop and socialise or attend medical appointments. It’s also vitally important for the future survival of small businesses.
“But most importantly we are also talking about the loss of a much loved civic space which brings a vibrancy and life to the centre of the town.
“This is where we hold outdoor concerts during the Fleadh, where we have our Christmas Markets and homecoming events for County teams.”
Ennis 2040 is a designated activity company (DAC) set up and owned by Clare County Council to plan and develop strategic sites in the town following consultation with local businesses and elected representatives.
As the population continues to grow, the plan promises to create 5,000 new jobs, 450 townhouses, office and retail spaces along with public amenities.
It is estimated the number of people living in Ennis will have increased from 28,000 to 40,000 in 2040.
CEO of Ennis 2040 Kevin Corrigan described his future vision for the town.
He said: “When you look at other European cities the river is the central part. It’s promenades and walkways and bridges. When you come into Ennis you park and you walk away from the river.
“We want people to make the river a destination and a number of our projects are along the riverfront so we want to develop a world-class riverside location through retail, jobs, housing, parks and promenades in the centre of the town.”
“This is a medieval town. We put 100,000 cars per month through the town centre on sixteenth-century streets.
“This is about planning for the future so we do have sufficient car parking spaces as we speak and there are plans for more so there’s no reduction in the volume of car parking spaces.
“We just have to get away from parking outside the door of wherever we want to go. The town is no longer able to cater for that as it is so we just need to have that modal shift,” he added.
John O’Connor runs Custy’s traditional music shop in the town and describes the two car parks on Abbey Street and Parnell Street as the “lungs of Ennis”.
He said: “If we lose them, Ennis fails on a lot of fronts. It fails as a business entity, it fails as a social entity, it fails as a town for people.
“Older people can come and just socialise and do their business and go to their medical appointments. We’re supposed to be an age-friendly town.
“We’re not opposed to every aspect of Ennis 2040 and we understand change is inevitable.”
Mr O’Connor added: “But this is not Dublin where you have a lot of infrastructure for people to do their stuff, they have bus lanes, they have Luas, they have every kind of infrastructure there. We are a small town that serves a hinterland, a rural hinterland. People can’t just parachute into this town.
“There is also concern about the multi-storey buildings with local residents saying they will be ‘will destroy the town’s medieval heritage.
Local businesswoman Michelle O’Connell said: “We support positive progress and the future development of Ennis.
“But the images we have seen so far of the proposed developments by the riverside demonstrate the scale of the destruction planned for the heart of our historic town.”
People protesting insisted they are not opposed to all of the Ennis 2040 plans.
The divisive plan is now one of the key local election issues in Ennis.
A greener future with car-free town centres may be well become a reality but for now the battle to retain parking spaces in Ennis looks set to continue
