well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

Some news on Colbert station

Action stations as Bus Eireann gets approval

Date: 09 February 2009

A MODERN two-storey bus station is to built at Parnell Street within two years which will bring the terminus “up to the 21st century”.
An Bord Pleanala granted planning permission for the €5.5million redevelopment of Colbert Station last week, after it was originally refused by Limerick City Council.

However, at an oral hearing in City Hall last October city planning officers did not voice as much opposition to the designs as originally expressed.

An Bord Pleanala have now overturned their ruling, while outlining a number of conditions before the development can proceed.

Overall, the board found that the plan would benefit the city, in spite of concerns in relation to the impact of works on Colbert Station, a protected structure.

It stated the development “would represent an enhanced transport hub which would be highly desirable in terms of expanding public transport facilities in Limerick city and surrounding areas”.

The board also found that it would not adversely affect the proposals for an orbital route along Parnell Street – which was initially the case put forward by refusal by Limerick City Council.

The application by Bus Eireann to rejuvenate the station was partly in response to the Department of Transport’s sectoral plan 2006.

And is understood that Bus Eireann may be reliant on the Department of Transport for a portion of the cost of the development, which could determine when construction could begin.

The plans will see a new bus station built at the current car parking area to the side of the existing station building. New car parking facilities will be developed where the bus bays are currently.

A landscape garden is planned for the carpark at the front of the station. An internal walkway will also connect the rail and bus station, providing greater ease of access for passengers.

Built in 1849 and designed by Sancton Wood, also architect of Heuston Station, the station was renamed after Con Colbert, the Limerick man executed following the 1916 Rising.

But the station was not originally intended to be located on Parnell Street. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage notes that “aristocratic and middle class interests prevented it from being constructed in the more fashionable parts of the city and it was thus built at the edge of the Victorian part of the Limerick city”.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Ac…ann.4959413.jp

@dave123 wrote:

How is the Hanging Gardens project is that up to full speed in contruction?

Work’s stopping there in three weeks. 🙁

It also looks as if there may finally be some movement on a possible boundary extension. I really hope the Minister makes a strong decision on this and pays no heed to those neanderthal’s out there who seem hell-bent on holding the city back!

Minister Gormley moves on Limerick city boundary

By Petula Martyn

THE Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has said he will not be “steered in any particular direction by vested interests” when deciding whether or not to extend the boundary of Limerick city.
A white paper on the matter is due to be published in early March, and the minister has said he will be objective in coming to a decision.

“Let me say to you, that as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to do what is best for Limerick and what is best for the region,” he told the Limerick Leader.

Minister Gormley said a series of suggestions, including the idea of a single planning authority, have been put forward, and he admitted that some people will not be happy with his “optimal solution”.

“I’m in a position where I can act more objectively than previous ministers. Previous ministers were under political pressure. I am not going to allow that interfere with my judgement of things.”

Minister Gormley was the first Minister for the Environment in over fifty years to grant a limited extension of the boundary in March last year, to include Caherdavin, Coonagh and Moyross in the city.

“Eaten bread is quickly forgotten, you know,” the Minister said. “I did, unlike other previous ministers, give a boundary extension. It might have been limited but it had never been done. It was asked for, it was given and on that particular date county councillors said ‘this is it and no more’.”

There have, however, been further calls from city councillors across all parties, and the local business community to further extend the boundary to include the city environs.

A draft copy of the Limerick City Development Plan 2010-2016 describes the challenges that lie ahead in terms of developing the city centre.
“The demotion of the city centre in such a way is contrary to national, regional and local policy. It is evident that the role of the city centre in the national hierarchy is under serious threat and such a demotion of the importance of the city centre will impact negatively on the region’s competitiveness,” it states.

Minister Gormley advised all interested parties not to get “hung up” on any one particular option as a way to address the boundary issue.

“I’m into solving problems, I’m not into rigidities and that’s the only way it can be done,” he said, “because people need to be flexible in the way that they think.

“No matter what you do, you can’t please everybody and I’m expecting that some people will not be happy with what I’m suggesting, but never the less I do think that the proposal that is put forward will be in the best interest of the city.”

Limerick Leader

If the decisions are genuinely going to be an improvement, lets hope they are made while there is still time to attend to such matters before everyone is engrossed in more substantial political issues.

Massamann.

You’re entitled to you oppionion obviously, but to claim it’s the “highest profile site” in the city is a joke.

Be honest here.

I think its fair to say the boat club site is the highest profile site in the city – certainly its location means that it can be seen from many different vantage points – along the quays/strands and from many offices and hotels. If the building is an eyesore – and that depends on individual opinion – then its going to be the most visible eyesore in Limerick. From my point of view Sarsfield bridge is possibly the best structure we have in the city and Im very unsure if what is being proposed will be a valuable addition…

€2m facelift for Limerick Milk Market (Irish Times)

KATHRYN HAYES (26.02.2009)

A computer simulation of the proposed development at Limerick Milk Market

A MAJOR development for one of the country’s oldest market places is set to commence within weeks.

The transformation of Limerick Milk Market, which dates back to 1852, is an extensive project due to be completed by early next year.

This follows the decision by Limerick City Council, and An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the project to the Limerick Market Trustees, a non-profit group responsible for running markets throughout the city and environs.

David O’Mahony, the chairman of Limerick Market Trustees, said the project will cost in excess of €2 million and would “move quickly to implementation, once the tendering process is complete”.

“Our plan is to build upon the phenomenal success of our open air Saturday Milk Market, transforming it into an even more vibrant, enlarged, week-long market venue, which will be weather-proofed and will attract more shoppers and visitors into the heart of Limerick city,” he said.

“In advancing our plans, we are conscious that we are the guardians of a unique and historic market which dates back to 1852. Our plan will fully protect the integrity of the market and will make it a landmark city attraction.”

The redeveloped market will provide opportunities for more small traders to showcase diverse and local produce, from fresh and fine foods through to horticultural produce, crafts and fashions, continued Mr O’Mahoney.

The transformation plan incorporates a structure covering the Milk Market courtyard, protecting visitors from the elements. A mezzanine floor, to extend from the existing Market House will accommodate a restaurant overlooking the market.

Beneath this will be a number of permanent trading outlets that will typically sell speciality foods and beverages, in keeping with the market’s ethos.

“The dynamic of a market, where the stallholders sell what they produce direct to shoppers, is very special. It creates a buzz, an energy and a business stimulant that is just brilliant, particularly within a city centre. Our plans are to facilitate this ‘buzz’ by providing a more perfect environment for both the stallholders and the shoppers. We will also be promoting the market as a venue for a range of special events, complementary to the market, to add to its overall appeal and to the contribution the market will make to the city,” said Mr O’Mahony.

In the coming weeks the market trustees will be detailing the opportunities the market presents for specialist retailers, producers and event organisers.

The development will form part of the Limerick Market Trustees overall strategy for increasing markets in the city. It is hoped it will complement the Riverside market, which runs on Sundays from April to October on Bedford Row in Limerick city centre.

The oral hearing into the proposed extension of the Crescent Shopping Centre got underway this week.

‘City will decline if Crescent expands’ (Limerick Leader)

John Hogan

LIMERICK City is “leaking” business and trade in the city centre could drop by up to 20 per cent if approval is granted for a major extension to the Crescent Shopping Centre, an oral hearing of An Bord Pleanala was told yesterday.
The hearing – which began yesterday morning – is being held to allow a number of different bodies to voice their opinions on the extension which would host a Marks & Spencer unit as its anchor tenant.

Limerick County Council refused planning permission for the development but the decision was appealed by the applicants, Stapleyside Company Limited, leading to the hearing.

Experts, speaking on behalf of Limerick City Council which has objected to the development, claimed yesterday that the extension would lead to the overall decline of the city centre. However, supporters of the plans said that their proposal satisfies the guidelines set down in the Mid-West Retail Strategy and could easily work in tandem with the development of business in the city.

Acting senior planner with Limerick City Council Kieran Reeves said due to retail decline, 25 per cent of dwellings in the city centre are now vacant, with 50 per cent of the Georgian buildings unoccupied.

“Limerick city centre should be the hub of economic activity in the region but suburban retail development has been growing twice as fast as that of the city,” said Mr Reeves. “We have failed to retain the city’s place among the retail hierarchy and there is a need to protect that as enshrined in the Mid-West Retail Strategy.”

Mr Reeves added that no agreements have yet been signed for the proposed Opera Centre but that potential tenants would be “watching keenly” as proceedings got under way at the hearing in County Hall this week.

Planning consultant John Spain said that, if granted permission, the proposed development – combined with those in Coonagh Cross and Parkway Valley – would have a cumulative impact of at least 20 per cent on the comparison retail trade of the City Centre.

Commercial property specialist Patrick Seymour, speaking on behalf of the City Council, said that Limerick was the only city in the country where retail rents were more expensive in the suburbs – referring specifically to the Crescent Shopping Centre – than the city centre.

Consultant engineer Seamus McGearailt, speaking for the City Council, said there were “serious shortcomings” in the Transport Impact Assessment carried out for Stapleyside. He claimed that the development would compromise the Southern Green Bus Route and undermine the overall transport strategy for the city.

David O’Mahony, of O’Mahony’s bookstore, spoke yesterday on behalf of the Limerick City Business Association, saying he had come to “plead for the city”.

“I ask you. Walk the main streets of the city, walk the side streets and listen to the silence. Look at the vacant units, some of which haven’t even seen tenants,” said Mr O’Mahony.

“Nobody in their right minds could say the city is thriving. Customers are telling us that the city is leaking business. There’s plenty of evidence of available sites in the city but the level of floor space being granted in the suburbs has demoted the city.”

Each of the speakers against the development claimed that it contravened the Mid-West Retail Strategy, but Planning and Environmental consultant Chris McGarry, speaking on behalf of Stapleyside, argued otherwise. Mr McGarry claimed that, due to the large number of amenities in the area, Dooradoyle, had become a town centre and therefore was entitled to prioritise retail development in the area, as dictated in the Regional Strategy.

Jenny Mulholland, speaking on behalf of Marks & Spencer, reiterated that the retail giant gave its full support to the Stapleyside application, saying that the Crescent would best serve the store’s needs. She did, however, also state that M&S still desires a second store in the city to complement the proposed one in Dooradoyle.

Mr McGarry added that Stapleyside representatives would continue to give presentations today addressing objectors’ concerns, including those regarding the contentious issue of traffic management in the area.