Limerick City Boundary Extension

All of this is a bit of a moot point if govt. go with the Bord Snip Nua (urgh) recommendation to merge all the regional city councils with the county councils.

@dave123 wrote:

I think the urban area of Limerick should be extended into Clare.

It HAS nothing to do with the GAA, or anything cultural. It is purely an economic common sense perspective to the benefit of the region as a whole.

STOP the divide.

It has gone on to long now.

Seriously – its not going to happen – no matter how its packaged you will never sell it .. the best that might be achieved is bringing in the estates close to Corbally – and that would be very difficult I think… I wonder what the results of a poll of the residents would reveal..if they were asked if they wanted to be part of the city ?.. or has this already been done ?

Just to make sure I got this straight, if the government go through with merging all county and city councils will this get rid of the problem (on the Limerick side at least, clare is another story)

Proximity to the city centre is probably one of the most important issues as to how an urban centre should develop outwards.

Taking the street junction at Brown Thomas / Debenhams as the middle point of the city, as this was once the cross roads leading to / from other cities.

• O’Connell Street – (Cork)
• Sarsfield Street – (Galway)
• Patrick Street – (Dublin)
• William Street – (Waterford)

From that middle point I plotted three zones using a rough radius length of 2.5km, 5,0km and 7.5km on to the boundary proposal map.

The city council‘s jurisdiction is / was confined roughly within the 2.5km zone.

Ideally in my opinion the city should develop outwards in a 360° orderly manner.

Proximity to the city centre should mean shorter journey times / lower emissions. Economies of scale from anything from public transport, to schools, hospitals, water, gas, etc, etc, could better be achieved if the city expanded out evenly in all directions.

The area highlighted in the image below denotes the jurisdiction of county Clare and shows its proximity to the city centre.

This boundary issue has to be dealt with now.

@Tuborg wrote:

This proposal for a single authority just isnt going to happen, nor indeed should it. Limerick City faces a number of uniquely urban challenges that can only be tackled with the aid of its own dedicated Local Authority.

County Limerick on the other hand is predominantly rural in character with a highly dispersed population, indeed Newcastlewest is it’s only urban area of any significance, (pop. 6,000). It would therefore be totally impractical to merge both into one body.

As CologneMike has already suggested, it would be far more feasible to explore the possibility of merging the other 3 mid-western County Councils, as they are all broadly similar in character.

If this Government is serious about drastically reducing the number of LA’s, then it should look at amalgamating a number of them in the midlands and north west. Clearly, there are a number of Counties here that just simply dont have the populations to warrant their own Local Authority.

You note that Co. Limerick is predominantly rural in character, however a vast area within Limerick Co. Council’s jurisdiction is suburban and has a direct relationship with the city itself.

I suggest that in real terms the edge of the city is actually determined by density of population and thus should either be managed by the City Council solely or there should be a distinct area between city and county where both local authorities have an input.

At present both Councils are flying in the face of each other particularly in realtion to retail development.

following the finalised go ahead of the long awaited opera centre and the objection of the expansion on the crescent shopping centre i think a Limerick masterplan should be made public, put on the news etc outlining a number of key criteria to enhance the growth of the city.
these include,

1. A proper extension of the city boundary
2. A proper start in the regeneration project
3. Finish off the remodeling of the city centre
4. Transport, do what they need to do in order to stop bus eireann pulling its fleet from the city (bus lanes) and the possibiliy of a light rail system, using the current tracks around the city, thus minimising costs.

if these 4 key categories were made public and had a big media coverage on the news then people will start to trust limerick again and invest in the city, it will get the ball rolling..then again im fully aware its easier said then done!

@CologneMike wrote:

D-A-V-E, very true but when the Central Bank says today economic activity in Ireland will not hit rock bottom until the middle of next year. Then one can only fear that those key categories you mentioned will be now put on the back burner either by the banks (NAMA) or Bord Snip. 🙁

The savage job losses (circa 5.000) associated with Dell will also punch a major hole in the local economy. Maybe the “Mid West Task Force” might be able to soften the situation a bit, failing that only motifs on tree stumps can help!

hah very true, it shouldn’t be forgotten tho whatever happens, limerick could be totally transformed in a short time if these were adhered to, i think it should start to try and encourage people to live in the city and move businesses in too at the moment so as to draw people from around the region to move to he ‘big city’ from the country..like what dublin is naturally doing

University’s ‘joined-up’ vision for Limerick

FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor

Wed, Aug 26, 2009

A NEW “joined-up” vision of how Limerick could be developed has been advanced by the University of Limerick (UL) School of Architecture.

The project turns on the idea of looking at the region as a whole with existing boundaries removed. It was devised by award-winning architect and head of school Merritt Bucholz, teaching staff and students.

Yesterday they presented the results of a summer-long “strategic planning think tank” and a specific project to design a new kind of public space for Southill.

“The fundamental thing we are doing is looking at the entire midwest region as one joined-up entity, as if there were no administrative boundaries between the local authorities – Limerick city, Co Limerick Co Clare – as one place”, Mr Bucholz told The Irish Times.

“This is something that each authority is unable to do and the Midwest Regional Authority can’t do successfully because of the competing views of its member counties. So we’re harnessing the intelligence of the university to forge a strategic partnership in the region.”

The UL School of Architecture’s think tank proposed its vision of Limerick based on six policies. It argues that the initiative could change the way local authorities in the area work and deliver important services, like health, education, transport and energy.

Proposals include: a policy for the development of neighbourhoods, rather than merely “housing”; a policy for “the continuity of the urban fabric, instead of “retail/commercial development”, and a policy of “collectivity and shared identity”, instead of art, sport and culture.

Other key changes would include a policy for natural infrastructure to replace “environment, roads, water services”, a holistic approach to strengthening public health and communities, and a policy to “harness intelligence and creativity” throughout the Limerick region.

Mr Bucholz cited the mismatch between Croom National School in Co Limerick, where there are 57 classrooms in prefabs “because it’s so popular” and St Munchin’s College in the city, with four or five playing pitches where the population is in decline.

Referring to the design of a “new kind of public space” for the run- down Southill area, he said there was a need to acknowledge the impact of the environment on the health of citizens and to create public spaces that would “engage people’s bodies and minds”.

The Southill project is conceived as “a catalyst for community participation, a new space expressing directly the relationship between public space and public health”. It is being run in collaboration with the university of Limerick’s Graduate School of Medicine.

Mr Bucholz said there had been a positive reaction to the proposals from senior planners in Limerick when they were presented. The top planning experts included Dick Tobin from the city council and Gerry Sheeran from the county council, and Liam Conneally, head of the regional authority.

Others who attended the launch by the School of Architecture at the university included Dublin City Council’s chief planning officer Dick Gleeson, and Paul Egan, a senior architect in the Department of Education with responsibility for overseeing the design of new schools.

© 2009 The Irish Times

Boundary committee is approved (Limerick Leader)

THE Cabinet has approved the establishment of a committee to examine proposals to extend the city boundary or create one local authority for all of Limerick.

Minister Gormley could make a decision on the matter next summer.

The Limerick Local Government Committee has been tasked by Minister John
Gormley to prepare a report into the most appropriate arrangements for local government for the city and county.

“It is a great day for the city and as Mayor of Limerick, I’m delighted with the news,” said Mayor Kevin Kiely who told theLimerick Leader that securing a boundary extension has been one of his biggest priorities.

The Mayor said he hoped the committee’s report would bring good news” for the city.

Minister Willie O’Dea said he did not wish to pre-empt the work of the committee, but added that “there are problems with the current situation and there will have to be changes”.

In particular, the Minister noted the difficulties that the Regeneration Agencies face “due to the need to work with three separate local authorities”.

The committee, whose members have yet to be appointed, is expected to include senior local government officials from outside of Limerick.

The report should be on Minister Gormley’s desk in six months, according to Minister O’Dea

That will be June 2010! Wow the wheels of change rotate at a breath taking pace since the proposals were made in October 2004! :rolleyes:

@CologneMike wrote:

Boundary committee is approved

That will be June 2010! Wow the wheels of change rotate at a breath taking pace since the proposals were made in October 2004! :rolleyes:

The six month time scale is a joke alright but I believe Gormley is well aware of the disastrous set up down here and the problems associated with it. I guarantee he’s already made up his mind regarding the boundary extension.

This “boundary commitee” has only been assembled in the name of departmental protocol and perceived transparency. It’s members will now go on their merry way canvassing the views of the affected gombeen county councillors who are still intent on fighting this extension tooth and nail.

The Minister clearly wants to be seen to be doing things by the book here because it’s a contentious issue. Ultimately though he has the final say on the matter and I would be majorly surprised if in the end he dosen’t rubber stamp an extension that at long last reflects the Limerick urban area.