well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

Below is the current state of play on Thomas Street where a new 5 storey retail, office and apartment building is currently under construction at the junction with Catherine Street. The whole area is a bit of a nightmare at the moment with the streetscape works also underway, things could get even worse if An bord Pleanala give the go ahead for a redevelopment of O Riadas bar just across the street!:eek: A decision is due in the next few weeks!

Thomas Street Limerick Blogger

Attachment shows how the building should look when completed.

@Tuborg wrote:

Below is the current state of play on Thomas Street where a new 5 storey retail, office and apartment building is currently under construction at the junction with Catherine Street. The whole area is a bit of a nightmare at the moment with the streetscape works also underway, things could get even worse if An bord Pleanala give the go ahead for a redevelopment of O Riadas bar just across the street!:eek: A decision is due in the next few weeks!

Thomas Street Limerick Blogger

Attachment shows how the building should look when completed.

The lift shaft shows the height of the completed development. Can anyone tell me how Limerick City Council ( or Big R ) decide on building heights?
How does anyone know what height they can develop to within the city ? Sometimes Black and White is better than Grey……

@Dreamstate wrote:

The facade they took away looked better than this!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the pepple dash and boarded up windows looked better than this.
When the scaffolding inside comes down and the chuch facade is properly lit i think this building will look fantastic

The increase in population must be more than 7,000, if all of those places have been added to the city area??? I would have thought Caherdavin alone would have that many.

Thanks Tuborg for the clarification – that is interesting. I hadn’t realised that alot of Caherdavin was already part of the city.

@Tuborg wrote:

I was fairly surprised myself that the figure was so low but the reality is that the vast majority of Caherdavin was already within the city boundary in the first place. The city used to end just before Ivans cross on the Ennis road so the city council are only inheriting a remaining few estates. Aside from the parts of moyross, the area that the boundary extension covers is predominantly rural and undeveloped, Coonagh for example isnt much more than a hamlet, although there are currently a number of large residential developments in the pipeline.

We are likely to see major changes now that the extension has taken place, it will be interesting to see what stance the city council takes on planning and development in these areas!

Sorry to be pedantic but none of caherdavin used to be in the city. Its just not as big as people think.

Re- the boundary.

If you travel down the Old Cratloe road past LIT and then past the shop (Dave & Kay’s), at the first left hand turn was the end of the city boundary. There is a stone on the roadside which proves this.

This left runs along in front of Caherdavin Credit Union and comes back out to join the road close to Ivans. The majority of Caherdavin is on the county side of this side road.

Spruced up canal walk will add to city’s appeal (Limerick Leader)

Limericks development as the riverside city continued this week with the opening of the first phase of the park canal restoration project.

The €1.6 million joint investment between Limerick City Council and Shannon Development has been welcomed as the first step towards making the canal a hub of local tourism once more. “Its a great honour for me personally as the canal was an important part of my childhood” said Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon, Deputy Mayor of Limerick, who led the official opening on Thursday.

“With the opening of the park canal we now have a new green lung for the city which we hope the people of Limerick will embrace. We hope that they, and the 4,000 people who work at the National Technology Park and the University of Limerick will enjoy this wonder ful new amenity in the heart of the city.”

Work under phase one involved dredging the canal and restoring the lock gates at park bridge. Special platform have been installled on the northern bank, which it is hoped will encourage fishing enthusiasts to return to the area. Street furniture and lighting have also been added in an attempt to hand the canal back to the public realm. The route is already popular with walkers, joggers, cyclists, fishermen and canoeists.

John King heritage and tourism director with Shannon Development said “we’re delighted to have been part of this project to restore this special area to its former glory. The canal will be another asset in our attempt to brand Limerick as a riverside city. By creating a link between the medieval city and the university, the canal restoration will act as a catalyst for residential, commercial and tourist developments. But most importantly, we hope this project will breathe new life into the park canal for future generations.”

A total of €1.2 million of the investment was grant aided by the EU, with the City Council and Shannon Development contributing a further €400,000. Limerick companies Nicholas De Jong Associates and White Young Green were involved as project consultants. The restoration of the park canal builds on the dedicated work of Limerick Civic Trust, which has been actively involved with the Canal Restoration Association since the early 1990s.

Phase 2 of the project will involve resurfacing the existing pedestrian paths along the length of the southern bank of the canal, as well as adding an improved cycling path.

Photos of the Canal and walkway from the city centre to Plassey can be found here

The Clancy Strand saga rumbles on!

“Nature” blamed for building collapse

A developer has described any suggestion by those opposed to his plans for Clancy Strand that he would structurally weaken a building which he owns on the road pending approval from An Bord Pleanala as “outrageous”.

This week the top right hand corner of a three storey building on Clancy Strand, known as Curragour House, caved in and Limerick City Council has ordered the demolition of the building, which one local architect sought to be put on the list of protected structures.

Developer Gerard Wall owns the three historic buildings on Clancy Strand – Jacksons Turret, Strandville and Curragour House – which he sought to demolish for the construction of a €10 million residential development on the site. Jacksons turret has now been protected as a listed building, and An Bord Pleanala is due to come to a decision on the development in May.

But Mr Wall denied he had contributed to the collapse, saying the building had long been in a state of decay. “This has nothing to do with me. This is nature. It’s irrelevant whether the building is demolished now or later. Its irrelevant to the application.” he said.

Mr Wall added that the building was subject to an engineering investigation by White Young Green who said they considered the house structurally unsound. The report states that the property was only inspected partially inside due to structural disintegration. It states that the central timber staircase has collapsed.

Mr Wall said the roof to the rear of the property had also collapsed. The fact that it had begun to collapse was “no surprise” he said.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader, Dick Tobin, senior planner with the city council, said he assumed the building had collapsed and now constituted a danger to public safety, as the house bordered a busy road. “If that wall is bad, then it could easily collapse, and there is work taking place across the way” said Mr Tobin by means of explanation for the collapse. “It should be declared dangerous. In fact we will be demanding that the fire brigade knocks it down.”

Flan Brennan, Limerick City fire brigade said, it will investigate the buildings structures before any demolition occurred.

As part of the objections to Mr. Wall’s development of 41 apartments on Clancy Strand, An Bod Pleanala was told that this building should have been placed on the list of protected structures, along with Jackson’s Turret.

An Bord Pleanala is due to reach a decision on the development on May 21st and the fire brigade has yet to confirm if and when the demolition will be carried out.

Limerick Leader 8/3/08

The headline is just a tad sensationalist, what has happened is a portion of the top floor of the house at the corner of the gable and front elevation has given way just below the roof line. If you believe the article, the building cant come down soon enough as far as Limerick City Council are concerned! Although this should come as little surprise given how supportive they are of the flawed development proposed for the site.

Its seems theres an interesting precedent to the current application. In 2004, another developer received permission to build an apartment block on the site of Curragour House. The decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by none other than Ger Wall, (who is now proposing a similar development at the same location) on the grounds that;

1. The Appellants’ dwelling including living room windows which face over the site.
2. Excessive scale of development proposed, with a 4-storey building and a plot ratio of 1.9; serious over-development of the site is proposed.
3. There is inadequate amenity open space within the development; open space primarily comprises the car parking areas.
4. The proposed development results in serious injury to the amenity of the appellants’ property, by means of overlooking, proximity of car parking, noise.
5. Development constraints on the site, including requisite separation distance from appellants’ property means that the proposal cannot be accommodated.

Strangely, these issues no longer seem to bother Mr. Wall!.:confused: The report of the ABP inspector totally rubbished Limerick City Councils original decision;

The proposed apartment building, by reason of its design, scale, height,density and visual and physical setting in close proximity to existing dwellings, and which is deficient in terms of the provision of communal open
space, would result in an excessive form of development on the site, would seriously injure the character and amenities of existing residential development in its vicinity by reason of noise, disturbance and loss of privacy, and would provide a substandard form of residential amenity for the future occupants thereof. The proposed development would set an undesirable precedent for similar development of infill sites in this vicinity, would seriously injure the amenities of the area. The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper
planning and sustainable development of the area.

No Building Condition survey has been submitted, nor requested by the Planning Authority. I do not share the conclusion of the Planning Authority that demolition of the dwelling is acceptable in view of the fact that it is not a Protected Structure; it is unfortunate that no Report of the Conservation Officer of the Planning Authority was sought nor received.

The external form of the building is neither derelict nor even semi-derelict, the external walls and roof appear to be in relatively good condition. Rather, its brick finish contributes to its prominence on the riverfront.

Its ridiculous to think that the planning office find the construction of a plastic box preferable to the restoration of an historic, attractive georgian townhouse in what is a very sensitive location.

Images of Curragour house are pretty hard to come by, this is the best I could find (from photobucket) Curragour House is the 3 storey building on the extreme left below.

What they are planning for there is so unspeakably hideous it’s almost amazing. Almost makes one glad house prices are dropping so maybe the market for these developments will wane.