Funding boost to kick-start Limerick regeneration

THE Government has approved funding for the Limerick regeneration programme which will kick-start construction work on new homes and other projects in four run down parts of the city.

Due to the economic crisis, the original plan launched in 2008 with a total price tag of €3 billion had to be drastically altered.

The original master plan envisaged public investment of €1.4bn and private sector investment of €1.6bn.

At the request of the Government last January, the Limerick Regeneration Agency submitted a revised plan last April.

It is believed the Government has now approved €300m to be spent over the next five years.

The regeneration agency has extended the overall time span of the project from 10 to 15 years.

The chief executive of the regeneration agency, Brendan Kenny, said the Government funding approval will now enable them to move ahead with 26 different projects.

He said they have already moved to commence work on 40 new houses by next December.

“The new funding allocation will enable us to get other developments off the ground,” he said.

One of the priorities will be the construction of a new link road into Moyross from Coonagh on the Ennis Road.

It was originally 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, came 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,” he added.