Tuborg

@CologneMike wrote:

5) Number 13 Bedford Row, Limerick
Number 13 Bedford Row, Limerick,There is little remaining of the chapel, in the way of architectural detail, as the interior features, windows, ground floor facade and entrance were sacificed during conversion into a cinema in c.1930. The original rubble stone facade survives to first floor up to parapet level while the ground-floor was replaced by structural support columns.

:rolleyes: Just typical isnt it?, no other city destroys buildings of architectural merit better than Limerick!, still, whatever remains of the chapel would provide a much more attractive frontage to Bedford row than that of the central cinema!

@CologneMike wrote:

Major revamp planned at Colbert Station for Bus Eireann (Update).

I thought as much!, bus eireann obviously didnt want to splash out on the service station even though it would have given them the scope for a complete overhaul, its hard not to feel that the current site is somewhat site limited for the development of a modern bus station!

That interchange was always going to be a shambles, diamond interchanges just arent built anymore!, especially not on routes that carry relatively high volumes of traffic!, their capacity is very limited and large queues often develop, this happens on the ballysimon road where traffic wishing to access the cork/kerry slip have to give way to traffic entering the city on the N24. The problem could definately be solved with the installation of two roundabout at the entrance to the slip roads, im no fan of roundabouts myself but i certainly dont think a free flow interchange is needed here, the dumbell(junction with 2 r/bouts) wqould be a cheap and relatively speedy solution to the current difficulties! Although I feared limerick county council would install traffic lights in the near future and sure enough!…:mad:

On another topic, took a quick look around bedford row today, for the 1st time since it was finished (well sort of!), the new paving is excellent, big change from the grey concrete slabs that we’ve been used to, it’ll look even better obviously when the savoy development is completed and the richard harris statue is unveiled! Of course work hasnt yet started on the central cinema, behind this lies the old central hall, which was a church hall up until around 1920 when it was converted into a cinema, the old hall is set back somewhat from the street and i presume this was why the present day central cinema facade was added! What is proposed here is the removal of the 20th century frontage and the retention of the central hall facade, i believe the rear and side walls of the building will be demolished and the stone facade will be dismantled and then re-built at the street front. Its provides for retail accomodation on first 2 floors and offices on the upper floors!

Just to give everyone an idea of what it’ll look like, this is a photo of the old hall from early in the last century, pretty scary looking thing!

This is the planning application that has been submitted for the former county council offices, unsurprisingly office accomodation will be the primary use with restaurant(s) at basement level, good to see that the developers are taking an interest in the conservation of the buildings, slowly but surely more & more buildings in and around the crescent are being restored, is limerick finally beginning to value its architectural heritage!:eek: if only this had been the case 30 years ago!

Geary & Others Sean & Catherine
84 O’Connell St
Limerick

Permission for the sub-division and alteration to protected structures. L.C.C. Ref: Nos 78-83=RPS256 and No. 84=RPS257. The alterations proposed are the sub-division of the existing office building into the following: No. 79 to be an individual unit for use as offices, No. 80 to be an individual unit for use as offices, No. 81 to be a single unit from Ground Floor to Third Floor for use as offices, No. 82 to be an individual unit from Ground floor to Third Floor for us as offices, No. 83 and 84 from Ground to Third floor and the motor taxation office on Mallow Street in its entirety to be an individual unit used as offices and the basement level from 81 to 84 to be an individual unit, being a change of use from offices to restaurant. The application is also for the removal of selected internal twentieth century partitions, reinstatement of original opes, reinstatement entrance doors, new windows to rear of buildings and the removal of selected service and cable runs between buildings 79-84 O’Connell Street,
Limerick.

As for Colbert station, its definately welcome news that its getting a makeover, (well the bus satation part anyway), not sure if iarnrod eireann have any plans for a revamp of the railway station, it could do with one aswell! The train/bus station is the first glimpse passengers get of limerick, its been somewhat of an embarresment for much too long!, indeed the general parnell street area gives a pretty poor first impression of the city, the area is generally quite rundown and dowdy looking. Its amazing considering the amount of development in the city over the last 10 years or more that parnell street has remained almost unchanged in that period, im not sure if the city council have any area plan for it but maybe they should! The Baker place project has added a whole new dimension to that part of town and hopefully all the other street renewal projects will be of the same quality but it is let down somewhat by the davis street approach from the station, davis street is a kip in all honesty and really needs to be looked at aswell aswell. Afaik its not included in the city centre renewal project, correct me if im wrong!

I dont think anyone can deny that the likes of castletroy/monaleen, dooradoyle and raheen should be part of the city, i mean dooradoyle and raheen are only 2 miles from the city centre, the current situation is ludicrous, its not just about boosting the city’s population, its about managing the development of the greater city area in an efficient and coherent manner. The current situation is a shambles with limerick county council more interested in lining their pockets with rates from suburban developments than actually looking after the needs of the county its supposed to be serving, county hall is a prime example of LCC’s attitude, it should have been built in newcastlewest but for petty reasons it was built in dooradoyle just to put down a marker! Furthermore there is almost no co-operation whatsoever between the city and county councils, just look at the 2 huge retail complexes that have been approved for coonagh and groody in the last year, taking no account of the effect these developments would have on the city centre, again these would be huge rate earners for the council and i guess this was the deciding factor!

As for Marks & spencer i think its common knowledge that they will be one of the anchor tenants in the Opera centre, debenhams have apparently bought up roches stores, whether or not this means the end of the roches stores brand name i dont know but it would be a shame to see another Irish retailer dissapear!

Its a pity that one side of the street is still a building site especially with the paving works complete, it’ll be another year so before we’ll really be able to appreciate the new look bedford row. I havent been down there in a few weeks, they were only beginning to erect the lighting columns at that stage, are these now in place?, it’ll be interesting to see what they’re like, as i presume these are the template for the new lighting that will be installed throughout the city centre as the remodelling programme progresses, at the moment the lighting in many of the city centre streets in limerick is pretty shambolic!

Also, work still hasnt started on the central cinema (despite permission being granted over a year ago) where the current frontage is to be demolished and the old methodist chapel facade is to be restored. Hopefully we’ll see a few changes now that the street is taking shape, i would love to see a total redevelopment of Bank of Ireland’s 1970s monstrosity!, another disgraceful crime against the city centre, probably wishful thinking though!, would be great if it actually happened, its such a dead space at the moment right in the middle of O Connell st.

So the marriott hotel is due to open next year, good to see that we’re finally getting some details on the development, there has been a wall of silence surrounding it since construction began, its pretty much the same with many of the larger developments taking place in Limerick at the moment, a poor state of affairs really!:(

@justnotbothered wrote:

As soon as the Hilton(?) is built, I think the next major development on either strand will have to around the Golden Vale sites. The land here is completely underutilised, sure Golden Vale could operate as easily from a cheaper location and sell off the land for a high price? I imagine St. Michaels might be due a windfall for their corner of the bank.

The golden vale site was included in the initial docklands/riverfront land use survey, i presume it is still very much part of the masterplan that is currently being drawn up, afaik it was recommended for medium-high density residential development. Theres no doubt that this will happen soon enough, since golden vale was taken over by kerry group, many of their properties in prime locations have been sold off for development and really there hasnt been much activity on this site for a good few years now so i dont really see kerry holding onto it for much longer!

Another important riverside site is the old esb offices on bishops quay, this site was acquired by the bank of scotland last year and i presume we’re going to see a proposal fairly soon, they certainly have a lot to live up to with riverpoint next door!

Seen this in the paper today, probably the most radical city centre proposal since edmund pery and his georgian newtown!

Undoubtedly many of the buildings mentioned for “demolition” would be no loss and arthurs quay sc was a poor and dissapointing development on an important site but the fact that its not even 20 years old and they’re talking about tearing it down is mental!, is this the lifespan of a building now: 17 years? I suppose the important point is that someone has finally taken notice of the kip that is Dunnes Stores sarsfield street and the vacant units on liddy street!, this area has massive potential!

Can anyone really see this going ahead? , if i could pick one block in Limerick for redevelopment, it would definately be the Brown Thomas one, what an embarressing eyesore!:o

@Thomond Park wrote:

Opposition to Limerick Docks proposals

20 June 2006 16:15
Opposition to proposals to sell off or close Limerick Docks has intensified, following a legal challenge by one of the biggest exporters based at the docks.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company is currently examining tenders from a number of commercial interests who have ambitions to develop the 44-acre site.

The company wants to see what interest is in the market and will make a decision about its future by the end of September.

But there is considerable opposition among a number of commercial and community interests to any proposals to sell the docks.

Hegarty Metals, which has been exporting scrap metal from Limerick Docks for over 45 years, has lodged papers in the High Court to fight any plans to sell.

The port company says it will repel any move by what it describes as ‘vested interests’ to inhibit its right to determine the future of the docks.

Limerick City Council has also re-iterated its complete opposition to any proposals to sell or close the docks.

As far as i know the Shannon Foynes port company’s original plan was to fill in the inner wet dock so as to make the area more attractive to developers!, their position seemed to change shortly afterwards and they declared that they wanted to see the docks kept open. They seem to have changed their mind yet again now and are taking a more aggressive stance on the matter saying that “its their land and they wont be told how best to use it” . One thing is for sure the docklands cant be left in their current state, the area is neglected, partly derelict and vastly underutilised. In fairness the docks do have their limitations: the channel is too narrow to allow many ships to turn and not deep enough for the larger vessels. The port company has major plans to upgrade foynes port and also plan a new deep water facility at ballylongford in Kerry, these developments surely put a large question mark over the future of the Limerick city docks!

It would be a shame though if the docks were closed completely especially as limerick has been a port city for hundreds of years, there is a huge amount of undeveloped land not only in the docklands but also in the wider dock road area, the city council has big plans to turn the dock road into a sort of boulevard, i know it seems unlikely at the moment but thats the long term plan, also major residential, commercial & leisure facilities are planned for the old greenpark racecourse so really there isnt any need to close the docks down!

Firstly, superb post CologneMike, if only the powers that be had as much interest in Johns square we’d be in business!, its criminal really that an area with so much potential, in fact a potentially very attractive public space (in a city seriously lacking in quality public space) has been ignored for so long. The square was given a makeover of sorts in the early 1980’s by all accounts, it involved a cleanup of the buildings and the square itself but didnt amount to anything much!, it says it all really that the square is nothing more than a glorified carpark today!. I think one of the major factors contributing to the neglected feeling surrounding the square is the fact that its main access point from the city centre is from gerald griffin street, one of the most lifeless streets in the city, therefore the footfall is extremely low. In fairness the council did an excellent job with baker place, surely something similar could be done with Johns square!

We’ve mentioned the lack of info on the Opera centre in this forum before and it was interesting to read some comments made by mayor Diarmuid Scully in the local press this weekend, he said that while Patrick st, Rutland st and Ellen st were architecturally sensitive areas, “there is a danger of heritage issues getting in the way of whats right for Limerick”, he went on to say that some of the buildings here dated back to the 1770s and may need to be torn down anyway!:eek: I thought this was a pretty foolish thing to say by someone who should know better, Diarmuid Scully i think has been an excellent mayor but let himself down here somewhat! Have we not learned from the mistakes of the past? , O Connell st in particular has been descecrated in the last 30/40 years, i couldnt believe when looking at some old photos just how many historic and attractive buildings have dissaperared and been replaced with absolute crap!, the planners of the 70s have a lot to answer for!

Anyhows heres some photos i found on the city museum online site( a great resource actually)

The 1st is of the fire that destroyed Todds Department store (now Brown Thomas) the middle of O Connell st would certainly be a much more attractive place today had this survived! This is the commentary that accompanied the photo
“Todd’s fire. Hose running up ladder to roof on corner of Thomas St.. two firemen at top of ladder and one on party wall to Todds; at ground level an ESB with locals and firemen around it “

The second picture is of the William st entrance “after fire extinguished, ; burnt out Liptons shop and Burton to the right of Todds;

Thirdly: “Roche’s Stores, O’Connell Street, Limerick, from Thomas Street across the site of Todds building, rubble and cleared site foreground. L. Burton’s shop, Fitt’s, Foley chemist; r. of Roches, Foley, chemist to the queen, with royal arms on building😮 , then Cannock’s with clock at 12.15. Extreme r., Saxone shoe shop on William Street”

Next one: View shows the block from Roches Stores to Cannocks, taken from a height on the diagonally opposite corner to Roches; green double-decker bus moving northwards down street, cars parked along the pavement outside Cannocks.

Followed by O Connell street in the late 40s: view taken from first floor level at corner of Arthur’s Quay, O’Connell St., looking south up main street; Cruises Hotel cut at left edge, Tylers Shoe shop and Cannocks at right; car parked outside Cruises; horse and car at right pavement in foreground with bus parked at corner of Sarsfield St, with cart just passing it; many pedestrians on both pavements, but little vehicular movement on street.

O’Connell Strreet, looking north from east pavement just south of Thomas St. man leaning on bicycle in right foreground talking to two men on pavement; several pedestrians on both pavements, single car parked at left kerb. Bank of Ireland on corner at left

O’Connell Street, Limerick City, Ireland. Cardall, Dublin. Early 1960s. O/ View from SE corner of Cecil St towards Patrick St, Royal George Hotel l. of centre. Extreme l., Munster & Leinster bank, no. 109, then Liston’s Medical Hall with statues at first floor level. Extreme r., Fine jeweller premises

In the above photo the original royal george hotel and bank building integrate so much better with the adjacent buildings and are in stark contrast to the ridiculously out of proportion structures that stand there today!

@mopeds wrote:

Hi All
I read this morning that planning has been granted for Coonagh Cross Shopping Centre, Does anybody else think that Limerick has too many suburban shopping centres (Mostly Council built).
Bring on the boundary extension quick please or we will have no City Centre left

I think without doubt Limerick has too many surbarban shopping centre’s, if anything it only further highlights the shambles that is the current situation of 3 authorities governing the city area!, limerick county council dont give a s*** about the city, im sure it wouldnt bother them if the city centre degenerated into a neglected ghost town, all they’re interested in is lining their own pockets, just look at the massive rate earners they have within their jurisdiction, crescent shopping centre, raheen industrial estate, the national technological park! Im just not a fan of these out of town complexes and id be hugely sceptical of this one aswell, the N18 already has very high traffic volumes and this is only going to make things worse, it is a also a seriously substandard dual carriageway with many median crossings, i thought with phase 2 of the ring road they were finally going to do something with it but no, whats their solution?… stick in 2 more roundabouts:mad: , insane!

This is only one of a number of shopping complexes and retail parks currently being proposed for the city(as if we dont have enough of those either!) An even bigger complex is planned for castletroy( adjoining the parkway retail park), provisionally labelled “Parkway Valley”, this received planning permission late last year and was advertised in the property supplement of a national paper earlier this year. this development is proposed to include around 70 units,an office park, cinema and a public park, i found some images of the proposed scheme, it was labelled as “castletroy retail masterplan” , they dont really give much away but in fairness its almost impossible to find any info on the development, the developers behind the project also own a large amount of land across the road and also around the parkway r/bout, expect to see major changes in this area in the coming years!

Good to see someone else putting the boot into roches and brown thomas, roches stores actually looks pretty good since its paint job which only highlights how long overdue it was, the apathy that surrounds the basic upkeep of buildings in the city centre is pretty shocking, some of them look like they havent been cleaned in decades!, i wont even get started on brown thomas:mad: !

BTW i came across this gem of a picture lately, this is the fire that destroyed the old Todds building and the whole block between william street and thomas st in 1959, the whole city centre has taken a serious nose dive since, its safe to say its a considerably uglier place now than it was 50 years ago:(