A Clare group of nuns look set to increase the value of their land- bank after councillors went against the county manager's advice not to rezone their land for housing near Newmarket-on- Fergus, reports The Irish Times.
As part of the draft South Clare Area Plan, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, based at Carrigoran, Newmarket-on-Fergus, were seeking to have 32.5 acres rezoned for residential use. The nuns employed well-known architectural firm Murray Ó Laoire to lodge a comprehensive submission with Clare County Council to advance their case.
The order purchased Carrigoran from the Fitzgerald family in 1925 and since 1974 have operated a 116-bed retirement centre, including a 20-bed dementia unit there. With the Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass, the lands at Carrigoran have been cut in two and the nuns were seeking to have a large proportion of their lands on the Newmarket side rezoned. Murray Ó Laoire said the area plan and its population projections did not allow for the potential for a very significant five-star tourism development proposed in the area and the impact it would have on Newmarket.
As part of the draft South Clare Area Plan, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, based at Carrigoran, Newmarket-on-Fergus, were seeking to have 32.5 acres rezoned for residential use. The nuns employed well-known architectural firm Murray Ó Laoire to lodge a comprehensive submission with Clare County Council to advance their case.
The order purchased Carrigoran from the Fitzgerald family in 1925 and since 1974 have operated a 116-bed retirement centre, including a 20-bed dementia unit there. With the Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass, the lands at Carrigoran have been cut in two and the nuns were seeking to have a large proportion of their lands on the Newmarket side rezoned. Murray Ó Laoire said the area plan and its population projections did not allow for the potential for a very significant five-star tourism development proposed in the area and the impact it would have on Newmarket.
