Revisions to regeneration plan ‘common sense’

CHANGES to the Limerick Regeneration plan that will extend the time-scale from 10 to 15 years and reduce the Government contribution from €1.6 billion to €924 million was yesterday welcomed as “an outbreak of common sense”.

The original plan, launched in October 2008, envisaged private developers investing €1.4bn.

The property crash has forced the two regeneration agencies to revise the original plan in a new submission to Government, which has now been finalised.

It was planned to build more than 4,700 new houses in Southill, Moyross, Ballinacurra Weston and St Mary’s Park.

Now it is envisaged that many of the houses earmarked for demolition will be refurbished. To date, more than 400 houses have been demolished.

Councillor John Gilligan said: “This revised plan represents an outbreak of common sense. When the masterplan was launched, I said at the time this thing was being devised by Hans Christian Anderson and we’d be lucky to see half of it in twice the time set out.

“What I said at the time has come to pass. You can’t sit down with this ‘idea of what I’d like’. You have to sit down and look at the resources we have and what is best for the city. And what is now happening bears out what I have been saying.”

Mr Gilligan, who was mayor of Limerick when the plan was first published, said he was confident that, with time, work and effort Limerick will get what it can out of the regeneration plan.

Chief executive of the Northside and Southside regeneration agencies Brendan Kenny said the altered plan will be sent to Government today.

He said: “Our best shot estimate over 15 years will be to get €60m a year. We have been allocated €25m for 2010, and there is not that wide a gap to get the target sum of €60m.”

While an extensive demolition programme has been carried out by Limerick City Council, funded by the regeneration agencies, not a single house has been built.

And Mr Kenny said they would not be building any houses this year.

He said: “We hope to have builders into Moyross to start work on 40 new houses by the end of the year. It has always been our plan to progress work in the four areas at the same time. We hope to start work next year on a scheme of houses in Lord Edward Street on the southside of the city.

“We want to kick start the entire regeneration over the next five years in all the areas.”