Clare mayor weighs in on on Lidl plans for Limerick suburb

MAYOR of Clare Cllr Cathal Crowe has made a formal submission to a planning application for a new store in Westbury.

German discount retailer Lidl is seeking to construct a new store at Knockballynameath in the estate.

Mayor Crowe said there has been a “mixed” response from locals to the project, which will also deliver a new coffee shop to the area.

“Many are excited by the new retail opportunities it will bring. Others see the potential for local job creation. A majority of those I have spoken with are very enthused by the prospects of having a coffee shop in the area,” he explained.

The concerns, he added, centre around traffic concerns in a locality, which he says “desperately requires infrastructural upgrades”.

He said the traffic light junction at Westbury caters for “inordinate amounts of traffic and is no longer fit for purpose”.

“A roundabout would enable better traffic movements and queuing times during peak commuting hours,” Cllr Crowe added.

He also said the Westbury entrance/exit is too narrow, despite the fact there are more than 1,000 homes in it.

The mayor also called for better footpath infrastructure in both Westbury and Shannon Banks, saying the lack of this is causing accidents in this corner of South East Clare.