Calls made for temporary plan for ‘big green space in the middle of Limerick’
Caledonian Park has been largely out of use for more than 20 years
A PARK on Limerick’s southside, which was once a hotbed of junior soccer in the city, needs to be put back in use, a councillor has said.
Fine Gael’s Sarah Kiely has called for Caledonian Park, off Hyde Road, to get a new temporary use.
As it stands at the moment, Cals Park, as it is affectionately known, lies overgrown, and largely inaccessible.
Up to the early 2000s, though, Cllr Kiely said it was the “centre of soccer” in the area.
"I remember fondly going to matches there as a young teenager and meeting neighbours. You would be spoilt for choice with matches, with two or three games being played at once at this location. There were lots of teams in the area who used the pitches in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Unfortunately the pitches were then neglected,” she told this month’s Metropolitan District meeting.
The park is earmarked for housing development as part of the Colbert Quarter strategy.
But Cllr Kiely says this could still be many years away, and has urged a "meanwhile” use at the park.
Both she and fellow metropolitan councillor Maria Donoghue are on a forum which discusses the needs of the community in that area.
"It has come up on numerous occasions about the possibility of temporary use for Cals for a running club involving the gardai and the members of the community in Hyde Road and Ballinacurra Weston. It is a fantastic initiative and should be supported," said Cllr Kiely.
She believes it would not take much to get the area cleaned up and ready for use again.
"It is our responsibility as elected members to ensure the land owned by this authority is not neglected or misused,” said the Fine Gael councillor. “How can we stand over neglect and dumping impacting residents and the wider community?”
Cllr Donoghue supported Cllr Kiely’s call at the meeting, as did Cllr Dan McSweeney, who said the condition of the park is “absolutely alarming”.
"If you look at Google Maps, it is a big green space in the middle of the city that is lying idle, and there is no need for it,” said Cllr Donoghue.
Kieran Lehane, the council's manager in the Metropolitan District said he would be keen to consider proposals for the land.
However, housing director Vincent Murray warned that since there are plans for that site down the line, any ‘meanwhile’ use would need to be looked at carefully.
"To avoid conflicting layouts, wasted capital expenditure or premature community disruption, any proposed meanwhile uses must align with the timelines and spatial parameters emerging from the development strategy,” he stated in a written answer.
"The specific request to examine, design and implement meanwhile uses at Cals Park pending the wider rollout of the masterplan represents a project-specific undertaking that requires dedicated resourcing and financial budget allocation".
Mr Murray wrote if a meanwhile-use project were identified, a budget would need to be sought for its use.
He recommended the objectives of Cllr Kiely’s motion be noted and the potential for temporary interventions in Caledonian Park continue to be assessed.