Proposals to construct a 10unit retail warehousing scheme with parking facilities for 800 vehicles on a 19.75 hectares site adjacent to the Ennis bypass have been lodged with Clare County Council.

However developer Stephen Harris's proposed commercial project could be in jeopardy because a protected species of butterfly is said to inhabit the site.

Backers of a rival retail project, already refused planning permission by the council, claim the butterfly colony will be under threat of extinction if the development goes ahead.

However, while the council has expressed concern about the survival of the colony at the location, developer Harris is questioning whether or not the butterfly species continues to inhabit his lands.

A colony of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, a protected species under the EU Habitats Directive, was transferred to the site at Skehanagh from a different location during construction of the Ennis by-pass.

However, several recent searches of the site carried out by environmental consultants failed to uncover any trace of the insects, such as larvae or caterpillars.

According to the consultants' report, which was submitted to Clare County Council, "there is a possibility that the butterfly has ceased to colonise the area, which is not uncommon for this particular species".

The situation has been further complicated by a suggestion from the consultants that the butterflies may not have been transferred to the site in question in the first place. "It has still not been possible to obtain conclusive evidence that the site of the proposed development was the site of the translocation of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, or any specific details regarding the timing or success of any translocation that may have been completed, " their report states.

Meanwhile, a report submitted to the council by rival developers Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan maintains that if the butterflies have colonised the proposed retail warehousing site "it is difficult to see how the scheme could be considered viable or feasible".