5 years, €116m and not a house built

AFTER five years and a spend of €116 million, not a single house has been built under Limerick’s regeneration plan, and some families are now worse off than before.

The head of the Limerick Regeneration Agency, Brendan Kenny, said the plan to transform Moyross, Southill, Ballinacurra Weston and St Mary’s Park had left some families worse off — with 1,000 residents moving out because of the lack of progress. However, he said the plan must go ahead, if the areas were not to deteriorate further.

The plan to build and replace 7,240 homes, a mix of 2,450 local authority houses and 4,790 private dwellings, was unveiled in 2007 with a June 2012 deadline. Work on the first houses, a 33-unit project in Moyross, only got under way last August and will not be ready until October.

The original plan envisaged a spend of €3 billion — a combination of €1.6bn in public funds and €1.4bn in private funding — but just €116m has been allocated by the Government.

Almost €90m of that has gone to Limerick City Council for the demolition of about 900 houses during the course of the regeneration programme to date.

“We have to be conscious that some people’s living conditions are worse than what they were, as nice neighbours have moved out and there are vacant sites beside them,” said Mr Kenny. “It has a long way to go and, while there has been progress, we are disappointed with the level of progress.

“It was never going to be done in five years.”

He said up to 1,000 residents in the estates had opted to set up new homes in other parts of the city and suburbs.

He said the national and global economic downturn had had a huge impact on the aspirations of the plan, but warned the work of the agency must continue after its remit ends in June.

He said communities in the four areas were much stronger due to initiatives by the agency and there had been a dramatic drop in crime levels. He warned, if the regeneration process was wound up, the areas would be left in a worse situation than before 2007.

He hoped a further €40m would be allocated this year to ensure a further building project in Southill can be completed.

John Gilligan, who was mayor of Limerick at the time the plan was unveiled, said: “While it ran into major problems, it also seemed to embark on a policy of demolition of houses without a corresponding policy of rebuilding.

“Both should have gone in tandem. In my own area, St Mary’s Park, a lot of houses were demolished, but not one single house built. They should have put stone on stone.

“It is now years behind and has encountered a lot of problems. But, all in all, regeneration has been very positive for Limerick and has brought change, but not all was feasible.

“Overall it has been very positive and I still support it, even though it has encountered serious setbacks.”