Physical Development

Section 31 of the local government reform act 2014 provides that a local authority may determine the proportion of a refund of commercial rates on vacant properties that would apply to each electoral area. No provision for income for this has been made in respect of the budget 2019 pending the further consideration by the Members.

Physical Development

The recently established Project Management Office will progress the delivery of 11 major capital projects including the Limerick Northern Distributer Road, Ennistymon Inner Relief Road (Blakes Corner, Killaloe Bypass & Shannon Bridge Crossing, CFRAMs (Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Projects, N19 Upgrade (Shannon Airport, Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme, N85 Realignment (Kilnamona, Greenway Projects, Doolin Pier & Village Masterplan and Asbestos Remediation Project.

A key focus of the Physical Development Directorate is to maintain and improve the condition of non-national road infrastructure through Department Grants and own resources. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTaS has requested a change in the way NonNational Roads Funding is allocated in 2019. This was raised as a concern for Clare County Council and following our recent engagement with the DTTaS they agreed to examine and review the 2019 funding allocation to Clare and to consider the impact of the proposed changes.

The General Design office will deliver a wide variety of projects over the next 2 years to the value of €9.8m for all directorates, including the digital hub project, multi-service centres, burial ground sites, refurbishment / fit out of various buildings including Quin Road Campus, Kilrush Town Hall, Mill House and Cliffs of Moher Reception Facility.

A key project for the emergency services for 2019 is the provision of a new Civil Defence Headquarters in the Quin Road Campus.

A Climate Adaptation Strategy will be prepared in 2019 under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 in order to assess the future climate risk and to identify, assess and prioritise adaptation to make County Clare more resilient in dealing with future climatic events.

In order to meet our energy efficiency target of 33% by 2020, Clare County Council will implement measures in 2019 including public lighting upgrades to LED’s, building insulation and heating system improvements, transport fleet upgrades and fleet management systems. Public Lighting remains the single largest consumer of power for the Council and the costs associated with same continue to increase, as a result of both