Almost 350 people have their say on new plan for Limerick's riverside

ALMOST 350 groups and individuals have had their say on how they would like the Arthur’s Quay area of the city centre to look in the future.

An outdoor swimming pool, retaining Sarsfield House and converting the old tourist information centre into a street food market were some of the 347 submissions made to council as it sought suggestions from people on how to transform the area into a new riverside quarter.

Council put three options forward and asked people to have their say on them.

The first is what is known as a “business as usual” approach, where there is no intervention from the council.

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

Both of these plans contain an option to both keep and remove Sarsfield House, as well as the former tourist office at the front of the park.

In total, the local authority received 217 submissions from people online, and 130 at a special consultation open day.

The reaction demonstrates the level of interest there is in the future of the riverside area of the city , with Limerick An Taisce, Limerick Twenty Thirty, Limerick Chamber and Limerick Pedestrian Network among the groups to feed into the debate.

There was widespread opposition to the idea to demolish Sarsfield House.

It has been suggested it could be repurposed and used for accommodation.

As for the currently vacant tourist office, one person wrote: “It could have lots of small units rentable for different food propositions, a little like a street food market with a food court in the middle, extending outside on good days.”

One person who wrote to council said the park itself should have a Ferris wheel all year around.

“The park should be well lit up every night and should have markets all year around. Live performances and street performances should be a regular occurrence” another said.

One person called for a pedestrian boardwalk linking Arthur’s Quay to King John’s Castle and the Island.

Council is to prepare a report on all the submissions made, which will make recommendations on the next steps.

It will then feed into a final framework plan.