well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

A CITY councillor is sticking to his conviction that the People’s Park is being interfered with in a way that is reducing its landscaped parkland.

Cllr Jim Long told the Limerick Post that following his protestation against the sudden appearance last week of a new pathway in the park at the rear of new complex which is being built there, and his claim that “a cloud of silence” hung over the issue in City Hall, Limerick City Council director of services, Kieran Lehane has now agreed to an investigative meeting on site.

The councillor, who sparked off a heated controversy that gathered momentum following his discovery some months ago that Limerick City Council had sold off 0.44 acres of parkland for 1.5million euro to facilitate the building of a mixed development, is now incensed that there has been a further intrusion into the public park which was bequeathed to the people of Limerick by the Earl of Limerick in 1876.

City Hall confirmed that it had received a number of calls from members of the public, voicing their concern that yet more of the park has been eroded.

However, City Council is emphatic that the construction of a ramp will allow Council workers access to a new depot located in the basement of the multi-storey apartment development.

City Hall states that the ramp or new pathway was part of the planning development and is required to provide access to the park’s maintenance depot. The council stresses that there is no intention of providing a facility for vehicles to drive through the park.

Unconvinced, Cllr Long said that having walked around a cordoned off area in the park, there is, in his opinion, ample room for a truck to drive through.

“It is my belief that what we’re looking at here is a slip road,” he said.

“I’ll be meeting with officials in the park – I want to show them where my concerns are and that not one more piece of the People’s Park is interfered with for building developments

A pretty worrying precedent is being set here, was never much of a fan of this development in the first place, there was never any mention of this access point in the original application and the city council assured people that no part of the part other than the specified site itself would be lost, turns out most people were right to be suspicious!, limerick city council dont seem to have any problem in destroying the citys oldest and probably its best public park while doing absolutely nothing to at least improve or perhaps even dispose of the failure that is arthurs quay park, there is a pretty large area there if you include the dunnes site and the vacant shops to the rear of roches, and i cant understand why no action is being taken, there is surely some legislation to free up prime development sites, this is probably one of the last remaining prime sites by the riverfront and what we dont want here is another boring, bland apartment block, if ever this site became available, i think an international competition should be held and let planners and architects(the people who should know best) come up with ideas on how best to utilise this valuable site, i wouldnt like to see the job the city council would make out of it!

Anyone know of any warehouse or similar developments for rent lease or buy around the Ennis Road area.

Cheers Shane,it was just a simple question.
I have read all of this thread since happening across this site and I have been very interested in it.
Its great to see pride in our city again

I have to say that having also read many contributions to this website that many of the remarks have a very cutting edge to them – the atmosphere seems to be one of putting people down rather than of discussing architecture/planning issues. Sorry, but it is an observation that I have noted to myself since joining and what is worse is that the atmosphere makes others joining the discussions extremely cyncial and aggressive.

Well J.P – your second posting seems to indicate that I should explain my hostile reaction to your first post. As you said – it was a simple question and it annoyed me because there are a good number of people who spend quite a bit of time searching out, photo’s, maps, plans etc or composing thoughts and arguements for this thread and i was a bit annoyed to see it being reduced to what appeared to be a property search engine ( whether that was your intention or not) It is good to hear, from your second post, that you find the thread, interesting (regardless of whether you include my contributions in that comment or not) and I kinda suspect that you might have some positive contributions to make yourself, which I and probably others would be very much like to hear.

A bit more on the new centre in town –

Saturday, September 17th, 2005
City on course to house the biggest shop unit in Munster

By JENNIFER O’CONNOR

A PLANNING application for what has been dubbed “the biggest shopping centre in Munster” is to be made to City Council within a matter of weeks.

The proposed development will take in the Michael Street / Rutland Street area of the city and will include the buy-out of a number of premises in the area.

According to a source, business owners have already agreed to sell their properties subject to planning permission being granted.

“It is targeted as the biggest shopping centre in Munster. It will cover about 300,000 square feet and the planning application is to go through in a matter of weeks,” he said.

Up to 1,000 new jobs will be created should the development receive the go-ahead,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the Limerick Leader has learned that Shannon Development are close to completing a deal worth over €1.5m which will see them dispose of their property in Michael Street.

The company have owned the premises since 1980 and according to a spokesperson, the sale will “contribute to the regeneration of the area”.

“Shannon Development are in the process of disposing of their property at Michael Street, Limerick. The company cannot comment further on the sale at this time. The property was placed on the open market and advertised through an agent.

“The disposal of this property by Shannon Development provides an investment opportunity in the property market which can contribute to the regeneration of this inner city area,” the spokesperson said.

Shannon Development, who also own a range of industrial estates in Limerick, including the Raheen Industrial Estate and the National Technology Park in Castletroy, have said that as far as they were concerned the tenants were just undergoing a change of landlord.

They have dismissed rumours that tenants are to receive settlements in the region of €250,000 each once the sale goes through.

The property was put on the open market earlier this year through Colliers Jackson-Stops International Property Consultants in Dublin and received huge interest from perspective developers because of its city centre location.

The site covers approximately 0.33 acres and was advertised as producing €33,300 per annum, with the potential for more, in income for Shannon Development.

The more talk there is about this development the more it concerns me, nobody has come out and spoken about the precise area that is to be redeveloped, there seems to be a wall of silence surrounding the whole project and this dosent fill me with any kind of confidence,the city council have a habit of keeping people in the dark when they want to push things through, not one public representative has questioned what buildings are going to be lost, its pretty disgraceful to be honest!, i find inconceivable that the city council, civic trust or the public in general would stand by and let another historic area of the city be destroyed!. We’ve already made a great job of o connell street, contrast the pictures of the street from the 50s with what the street looks like now and you’ll see just how many attractive buildings have been lost,the street is in a fairly pathetic state now but it just shows how a wrong attitude cant scar a city so much, we could have a beautiful o connell street now if the city fathers of the past werent so narrowminded and shortsighted, the last thing we need now is another horrible plastic and glass structure right in the city centre!. I really thought we had learned our lesson by now, theres even been rumours that the granary could be sacrificed, hopefully its a load of bullshit, if that was the case they may as well knock king johns castle and st johns cathedral while they’re at it! 😡

Just got this on the city coucil website, no mention of rutland street and patrick street here:

Limerick’s Conservation Area is located within the Georgian Area of the city, also known as Newtown Pery. This area includes the blocks between Pery Square and Henry Street and from Barrington Street to Mallow Street.

Most of the original street furniture and external features of the buildings still exist in Newtown Pery, although the original character of the interior has all too often been compromised.

Here are some examples of the features left in their original condition:

Remnants of old lamps remained in the form of lamp posts may be seen at the Pery Square / Hartstonge Street corner, outside the former house of Lord Limerick on Henry Street.
Examples of coal cellar covers set in the pavements can be seen on Pery Square and Hartstonge Street.
Gargoyles decorated with grotesque figures may be seen on the Leamy School building on Hartstonge Street.
Some fire plates can be seen above the balconies of numbers 2 and 3 Pery Square.
Ward boundary plates may be seen at O’Connell Street / Lower Mallow Street corner. These plates were erected around the mid 19th century to identify the constituencies for local government elections. They were made of cast iron by the Harrison Lee Foundry.
Mews were at that time an integral part of the townhouse. Used for stabling horses, storing carriages, they were located at the rear of the terrace in a laneway. Most of them still exist but they have often been converted into workshops, garages. The most distinguishing features of mews were the arched entrances and the hay loft above. Examples of Georgian mews may be seen on Hartstonge Street, at the back of the Tontine buildings, and on Catherine Street.
An interesting thing about Georgian buildings is the ironwork, found on balconies (mainly on the first floor) and railings, which still survive in good condition. Examples of these features can be seen on the buildings built after 1800. Excellent Victorian and Georgian style railings and gates may be seen on O’Connell Street. An example of a protective handrail can be seen on Hartstonge Street. While the balconies of the buildings on Pery Square are rather plain, those in other streets are more pleasingly decorative and they certainly help to soften the rigid lines of the terraces. This is the case on O’Connell Street, The Crescent and Mallow Street.
The Neo-Classical influence on railings is also evident in the decorative Grecian urns, which are placed at the intervals along the railings. These are such an ubiquitous feature of Limerick’s streets that they often go unnoticed.
Examples of bootscrappers may be seen on Barrington Street. A classical example of a bootscrapper in the shape of a Unicorn can be seen on Pery Square.
The main focus of attention in a terrace is the door, which is always set to one side of the house. The typical Georgian doorway has a semi-circular, decorative fanlight over the entrance and Classical style wooden or stone columns framing the door. The Limerick doorways are wide, with columns merging into the brickwork, as can be seen on O’Connell Street and The Crescent.

Jimmy Woulfe in yesterday’s Examiner has a piece about that funny little Toll House on Thomond Bridge: http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sgmV1S5vU72-6sgHuTLc4nqWo2.asp
It seems typical of the City Council. They get handed restored places or buildings on a plate by John Hunt, the Limerick Civic Trust or another body and they can’t seem to maintain them.
Here’s the Toll House: http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/limerick/limerick/tollbooth.html

@ShaneP wrote:

Also saw that an appllication is to be lodged for the extension to the business school in U.L. – can’t find any images, any one else come accross any? .

From what I can remember from my blissful years in UL, is that the business school building will be an extension of the current Schuman Building – same design. Could be wrong about this so don’t quote me, but there is a patch of land to one side of the Schuman which I think will be used for it. I have not seen any hard evidence to support this – just hearsay on the corridors of UL.