Plans to construct a 67-unit housing scheme on the site of the vacant Shannon Shamrock hotel in Bunratty in Co Clare “would be a huge blow to tourism in the region”.
In December, Limerick-based company Crescent House Ltd lodged plans with Clare County Council for the housing scheme along with one retail convenience store and six retail/office units.
The site accommodates the former 115-bedroom Shannon Shamrock hotel, which has remained vacant for many years and has fallen into a state of disrepair.
The proposed planning application seeks to demolish the hotel to facilitate the mixed-use scheme.
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The existing conference centre, located to the northwest of the site, is to remain as it forms part of a future phase of development, intended to accommodate a 76-bed hotel with 14 short-stay apartments.
A planning report lodged with the scheme states that “the current proposal now seeks to deliver an appropriately scaled mixed-use development which should have the agility to react to different market conditions and deliver much-needed housing in the centre of the village”.
Twenty-one third-party submissions have been lodged with the council. Bunratty Manor Hotel co-owner Maureen Wallace told the council that “the approval of the application as a site for primarily housing would be a huge blow to tourism in the region”.
Ms Wallace said that as a local resident and business owner she supported the addition of housing for Bunratty but losing such a central site to residential purposes “would have a substantial impact on both regional tourism and the local economy in Bunratty”.
Travel journalist Victor O’Sullivan, who also lives in Bunratty also expressed concerns over the housing scheme.
Mr O’Sullivan said he had recently included Bunratty in Condé Nast’s selection of Ireland’s most beautiful villages.
In a submission, he told the council that “the proposed high-density housing development adjoining one of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks would drastically undermine Bunratty’s character and appeal”.
Mr O’Sullivan said: “In an era where drone footage and social media amplify a destination’s visual identity, this development risks diminishing Bunratty’s picturesque allure, deterring both visitors and coverage in the global press”.
Planning consultant Andrew Hersey for Dun Rí Management Company told the council that his clients “purely object to the proposed primary residential use and they would consider that a more appropriate use for the site would be for a tourism venture”.
A decision is due on the application next month.
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