Big plans ’falling into place’ for Limerick says Mayor

THINGS are "falling into place" when it comes to the delivery of Limerick’s top priorities. That’s according to...

THINGS are “falling into place” when it comes to the delivery of Limerick’s top priorities.

That’s according to Mayor John Moran, who was enthused about Limerick’s future following the recent announcement of Government funding up to €22.95million for six local projects.

This, Mayor Moran maintains, is another significant vote of confidence in his ambition for Limerick and in the mayoral programme.

Delivery of prioritised projects, the executive mayor revealed, is now speeding up with more and more things falling into place. This latest windfall he considers worth celebrating, as well as understanding how it all happened.

“Government generosity was essential, but funding like this does not arrive by accident. When the national call opened, we had to prepare and submit detailed applications for each project. We had to explain what we wanted to do, why it mattered, how it could be delivered and what difference it would make. Our applications succeeded because we brought forward good and exciting projects. They also succeeded because we were ready to act,” Mayor Moran commented.

Mayor Moran revealed that “Toppins Field had already secured planning permission for new housing thanks to officials who prepared the plans with me and the councillors who approved the ideas”.

“The Nicholas Street Public Realm Scheme had been taken successfully through planning too. Opera Square is now well underway, tenders done, contractors appointed, a hotel project approved and construction evident with cranes towering over the site.

“This funding will deliver the missing public square and associated public realm around and at the centre of that development. One of the key remaining missing pieces is the library and we are working all angles to try and secure funding for that.”

Forward planning, according to Limerick’s first citizen, has been key in securing funding for his programme objectives to date.

“We did not begin looking for ideas after the funding call was announced. We had projects, plans, timelines, and approvals that allowed Limerick to respond promptly and credibly.

“Not only were these good projects; they were projects set out within a coherent mayoral programme and therefore went to Government with an explicit local democratic mandate from the mayoral election. Only Limerick had that advantage.

“Some had already been enhanced or advanced to the point where they were ready for a funding application, thanks to general budget allocations or allocations from the mayoral fund,” he claimed.

None of this, the Mayor highlighted on his latest blog post, happened by accident, but was, in fact, exactly the approach promised in his More for Limerick mayoral programme.

His reasoning for Limerick to be prepared to act quickly and be first in line when national funding calls are announced, he insists, is no longer aspirational.

“It is a methodology — and this announcement shows that it works. These are not projects retrospectively attached to the mayoral programme following a funding announcement. They are identifiable commitments published in More for Limerick and now backed by Government investment.”

The €7.5million funding for Bank Place and the Granary Courtyard will deliver the missing public square and associated public realm around and at the centre of Opera Square. The Mayor is of the opinion that this public space is essential if Opera Square is to function as a genuine new part of the city rather than simply a collection of buildings.

The €6million Southside Connectivity investment will deliver essential access and connectivity infrastructure to open up lands for housing. It will allow housing at Toppins Field, where the Council recently secured planning permission, to progress. This, Moran insists, is how housing targets become actual homes by securing the land, complete the plans, obtaining permission and then providing the infrastructure necessary to unlock delivery.

The €9million for Nicholas Street will fund delivery of the public realm scheme recently taken successfully through planning. This, the executive mayor continued, represents another major step towards restoring Nicholas Street and returning it and the surrounding heritage assets to the central position they deserve in our city.

“We have seen first-hand over the last few years, and especially during the recent Summer in the City, how the people of Limerick have warmed to the idea of using this public realm in new and exciting ways. Together, those three awards account for €22.5million of immediate delivery-focused investment,” the Mayor said.

The other three awards are each for €150,000. Funding for the fashion incibator at the former Mary Street Garda Station supplements an existing mayoral fund allocation and will take the project through its next design and planning stage.

Funding for Newcastle West public realm allows the Council to develop plans for enhanced, more attractive and accessible public realm in the largest county town. Meanwhile, funding for Colbert Municipal Sports Centre at Hyde Road will advance planning for a new municipal sports facility.

“We already are well advanced in our thoughts about what this might look like based on a study which has been going on for months now,” the Mayor revealed.

“This has been my dream to deliver since my time at the LDA. It will become a new focus for community in an area currently lacking sufficient amenities but one which we are also preparing for new housing. Good planning means delivering homes as part of complete neighbourhoods — with sport, recreation, public spaces and community facilities — not adding amenities years after residents have moved in.”

He said that “the mayoral programme acknowledges that not everything can be completed within one term. It says our responsibility is to set solid foundations so that those who follow can complete the work we begin and add to what we deliver.

“It therefore commits us during this term to driving projects through design and planning, leaving them shovel-ready when construction funding becomes available. These three €150,000 awards do precisely that,” he concluded.