FRANCIE KELLY’S shebeen in Southill has cast planners at Limerick City Council into a legal minefield.Such is the complexity of the case, officials may have to hire a top senior counsel to help with certain definitions within the Planning and Development Act 2000.Gardaí at Roxboro sent a file to the DPP after four raids, but still have received no instructions on further action.The council served a letter of warning to Mr Kelly earlier in the summer and now have six weeks in which to decide whether to proceed with an enforcement notice demanding closure of the shebeen for breach of planning.The shebeen has been operating in a big shed at the back of his mother’s house in Lilac Court since April.A senior city hall source said yesterday that such is the complexity of the case no...
LIMERICK City Council have agreed to give the go-ahead for a massive €350 million city centre retail complex, which will be known as the Opera Centre.The city manager, Tom Mackey, is to sign off on the successful planning application in the coming days.The new centre will be the biggest of its kind in the mid-west with a floor space of about 37,000 sq metres.Limerick auctioneer Pat Kearney put together a property portfolio which comprises an entire block leading onto Patrick Street.Mr Kearney said: “This is fantastic and just what we want for the future of Limerick city. I put together the property over a period of four years and dealt with 40 different landlords and owners.“Belfast property developer Suneil Sharma was the driving force behind the Opera Centre plan.He sold out his...
ALMOST 7,000 people will become city residents in Limerick as a result of a significant redesignation of the county council boundary.It follows an agreement between both local authorities to transfer a huge area of the county suburbs to the city as part of the massive regeneration programme planned for Moyross.With the transfer of 2,000 acres, the city will expand by 50%.Limerick County Council is to be paid €1.2 million over six years in compensation for loss of revenue.The areas, which will transfer to the city, will include Caherdavin suburb and a pocket of Moyross which is currently in the county council’s administrative area.As a result of the changes, the city council will gain rates revenue from a number of retail outlets including the Jetland and a new shopping area being...
Limerick City Council has unveiled a major €50m Regeneration Plan that will transform Limerick into one of Europe's most vibrant and living centres.The proposed plan includes the remodelling and pedestrianisation of Limerick's centre and the development of a new Orbital Route that will still give traffic access to the heart of the city.The aim of the €50m plan is to give pedestrians priority in the heart of Limerick city and improve the streetscapes and traffic management, according to Limerick City Manager, Tom Mackey. "This plan will give Limerick a vibrant and living city-centre to match the best cities in Europe of comparable size" - he said.It will create a first-class friendly public space where people can shop, live, work, sit in cafes and enjoy street entertainment, Mr Mackey...
Mr. Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has announced that Mr John Fitzgerald (former Dublin City Manager) has agreed to act as Interim Chairperson of two Limerick Regeneration Agencies.The two bodies will lead the development of comprehensive measures to tackle issues of social exclusion in Moyross and other targeted disadvantaged areas of Limerick City. "I very much welcome that John Fitzgerald has agreed to accept this role to drive forward the regeneration of certain areas of Limerick" - said Minister Roche.Last October, Mr Fitzgerald was appointed by Government to lead an initiative to address social exclusion, crime and disorder in Moyross and other parts of Limerick City. Mr Fitzgerald presented his recommendations to the Cabinet Committee on...
Radical move to make way for urban centreAN estate of almost 500 houses which is home to the country's most dangerous criminal gangs could soon be completely levelled to make way for an ultra-modern development.St Mary's Park in the heart of Limerick city, known locally as the Island Field, is the heartland of the Keane and Collopy gangs who are central to the drugs trade and criminality in the city.Limerick City Council plans to put radical proposals for the demolition and regeneration of the area before the local authority members by the end of the year. If agreed, all 480 homes in the area could soon be demolished to make way for a new urban centre in Limerick, including around 30 owned by members of the gangs. The demolition proposal follows a recent report into social problems in...
A LIMERICK property developer yesterday dismissed claims by Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley that new apartments built by him do not qualify for tax breaks due to mapping irregularities.The site on which the apartments were built was at the centre of major controversy and Mr O’Malley had previously demanded an investigation into how the developer, Reidy Civil Engineering Ltd, had acquired it.The site was part of the People’s Park, and contained maintenance sheds.Minister O’Malley now claims that zoning maps in the current City Development Plan do not match site maps and maps from Ordnance Survey.Mr O’Malley said he had also got engineers to scrutinise the maps.He said: “It was only by blowing up maps that we could find out that there was a problem with the maps that were...
IN an innovative pilot scheme, specially appointed community co-ordinators are to liaise with people in designated neighbourhoods to tackle a range of social problems.The eight community co-ordinators will soon begin work in Limerick city and will link up with the local authorities, gardai and the HSE to help local people on both sides of the city deal with a variety of problems in their districts.The Limerick City Community Safety Partnership is based on a very successful UK 'ranger' scheme to help make neighbourhoods safer and better places to live.The pilot scheme, which will run for two years, will cost in the region of €1m. The co-ordinators are each on a salary starting at €32,000.Chief Superintendent at Henry Street Garda Station, Willie Keane said the co-ordinators had no...
Potentially a great story ... but not as exciting as it sounds!Jimmy Woulfe in the Irish Examiner writes - AN ACTION group yesterday threatened to report a local authority to the Ombudsman for Children for not providing an amenity for skateboarders.The Limerick Skatepark Action Group (LSAG) claimed the city council had already benefited from €125,000 in Government funding for a skateboard park.The LSAG said it will press ahead with the threat if the council continues to disregard the rights of young Limerick skateboarders.The LSAG’s Tom Shortt accused elected members of the council of being more concerned about opposition from residents rather than the delivery of a skate park.He claimed the council got an allocation after Environment Minister Dick Roche announced a €2 million...