Limerick Council reveals next steps on planned Arthur's Quay redevelopment

LIMERICK City and County Council has thanked all those who took time to make a submission on the options report for the Arthur's Quay Framework Plan.

Three options have been put forward to transform the area around the riverside and create a new quarter in the city.

Three visions for the future of the riverside site - which also includes University of Limerick’s new city centre campus - were put forward by council.

And the public are being invited to inspect these plans and have their say on them before a decision is made on which one will go forward.

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The first of three options the council is looking at is what it is calling the “business as usual” approach where there are no interventions at all from the authority, and the various groups which own the land around Arthur’s Quay Park can develop independently.

“The ‘do nothing’ approach will not necessarily harm Limerick’s rich heritage but it will also do nothing to enhance it,” council has warned.

The other two options proposed by council focus on a redesign of the Arthur’s Quay area and either the remodelling of the buildings there or their extension.

Under the second blueprint, Honan’s Quay would be closed to traffic, while viable alternative options will be looked at to transform the old tourist office, which stands in dereliction at the front of Arthur’s Quay Park.

Sarsfield House would be removed, and replaced with a larger park, providing a “gateway” for the city centre.

In the second blueprint, Arthur’s Quay Shopping Centre would remain unchanged - but could be redeveloped inside to provide for bigger shopping units, and residential at the upper levels.

The final plan envisages the total removal of the tourist office “to allow a strong visual connection” between the gateway space where the tax office would have been, and the new riverside park.

As for the shopping centre, a major expansion is proposed here on its western side.

Council said the purpose of the non-statutory public consultation was to seek as wide a range of views as possible from the citizens of Limerick on options that could guide the future development of the Arthur’s Quay area.

A local authority spokesperson said: "The range and depth of submissions made by the public will be very valuable to assist in guiding the next steps of the project."

The council will now prepare a ‘Public Consultation Outcomes Report’ that will summarise, review the submissions made, and make recommendations on the next steps. This public consultation report will be presented to the elected members for their consideration.

 After this, there will be a final Framework Plan and this will include undertaking a suite of additional technical appraisals, including environmental assessments.