Plans for Ennis €150m technology park at risk

Plans to locate a proposed €150 million technology park in Ennis, Co Clare, are at risk following a claim by the park's promoter, Shannon Development, that the park is "undevelopable" in its current form.

With Ennis already reeling from a recent spate of job losses, the technology park is seen as vital to rejuvenate the town's eroded industrial base, and the town council materially contravened Ennis's development plan to allow the plan to proceed.

At its announcement last April Shannon Development said the park, with 750,000 square feet of accommodation, could deliver 5,000 jobs to Ennis over 10 years.

The plan is now in doubt because of conditions imposed by the town council on the planning permission, resulting in Shannon Development appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanála.

The decision excludes the development of financial services and other stand-alone office accommodation at the park .

Shannon Development has told the appeals board the exclusion of office use in the park creates enormous difficulties as it precludes many suitable companies from taking up space there.

The development agency says the inclusion of this condition significantly diminishes the development potential of the project "to a stage where the viability of the scheme is adversely affected".

Shannon Development contends that the council's decision "fails in its objective as it excludes potential tenants which may not have a specific knowledge-based IT function but which should be located in such a park".

The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr Joe Moran, expressed his disappointment that work on the technology park could now be set back, while the chairman of the town council, Cllr Michael Corley (Lab), said yesterday that he was surprised and disappointed that Shannon Development had appealed the council's decision.

He said: "The council very strongly backs the proposed development and materially contravened the town's development plan to accommodate it. The council imposed the condition to protect the town centre, and we would be anxious that businesses such as financial services would be based at locations other than the technology park."

Cllr Corley said he hoped the council could overcome the problem through negotiation with Shannon Development rather than going through the time-consuming An Bord Pleanála procedure.

A decision is not due on the planning appeal until June.