Re: Re: well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

@CologneMike wrote:

Pity that they blew € 83 million on a € 10 million sewerage pipe 😡

Id forgotten about that. The amount of money that was squandered on infrastructural projects over the “boom years” due to sheer incompetence is absolutely staggering. Of course back then, the attitude was “ah sure theres plenty more where that came from!”

We could certainly do with a slice of that €83 million now!

Gateway Innovation Fund deferral hits city orbital traffic system

Limerick City Council is looking at other ways to fund the proposed orbital route around Limerick city, following the elimination of funding for the project under the Gateway Innovation Fund.

Corbally residents who showed up for the first consultation meeting on the development of Limerick city last week were told by senior planner Kieran Reeves that funding from the scheme has been reduced to “nil”.

Limerick’s allocation of the €40 million funding expected to be distributed to gateway cities as part of the National Spatial Strategy had not been announced for 2009, but the council had earmarked its allocation for the orbital route.

The official line from Government is that funding from the GIF has been deferred leaving local authorities across the country with no choice but to defer capital infrastructure projects.

The pedestrianisation of O Connell Street was also due to be funded under the scheme but the money is not required until next year.

The pedestrianisation of Bedford Row, Thomas Street and Baker Place was funded by an urban renewal scheme which was replaced by the Gateway Innovation Fund. Officials at City Hall are confident that money will be found elsewhere to fund the orbital route and the project will not be unduly delayed.

Meanwhile, the public has been invited to make submissions on how they would like to see their locality and their city grow and develop at a series of consultation meetings across the city in the coming weeks.

The first meeting took place in Scoil Ide, Corbally. Residents who attended were told that the boundary division in Corbally was a serious issue when making decisions for the area. Decisions by Clare County Council in Corbally, Co Clare impact on any decisions made by the City Council in the Corbally area within the city boundary.

Mayor John Gilligan told the meeting that Limerick city has “three different retail strategies, three different housing strategies.” “Other cities have one, we have three,” he said, in reference to the city, county and Clare county councils.

© Limerick Leader

This is just pathetic really. The City Council announced plans for the upgrading of O Connell Street and William Street as far back as 2001. Yet here we are almost 8 years on and only 2 city centre streets have been completed.

Fair enough, Bedford Row and Thomas Street have been completely transformed but the two principle city centre streets are still thoroughly miserable. I dont think its an exaggeration to say that they are an absolute embarrassment at this stage!:(

Where do the council believe they are going to be able to find the funds needed to finance these projects?