‘Shanghai on the Shannon’ plan gets positive welcome

The prospect of parts of the Midlands being turned into a “Shanghai on the Shannon” has been greeted positively in a region considered one of the country’s unemployment blackspots.

Reaction to news that An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the first phase of a large “Euro-Chinese Trading Hub” at Creggan, Co Westmeath, has broken along expected lines with local business and political interests welcoming the development, while environmentalists have expressed concerns about its potential negative impact.

There are more than 33,000 people on the Live Register in the Midlands.