University of Limerick scraps development of north campus expansion in Clare

THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick has withdrawn an application to designate lands in Clare adjoining the north campus of the University as an Economic Strategic Development Zone.

The application had been jointly submitted by the university and Clare County Council in 2022, to expand and designate lands on the north campus of UL as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) through the UL and Clare Economic Development Agency Designated Activity Company (DAC).

UL was the lead partner in the application, which had been forecast to generate upwards of 3,500 jobs with additional employment being generated in the construction phase and subsequent spin-off developments, and a gross added value of €1.795 billion annually to the Irish economy.

In a statement shared with Limerick Live which had been sent to all staff last Thursday, November 7, UL said that the reasons for withdrawing "are multi-faceted and the Executive Committee has concluded, on balance, that the SDZ proposal was not to be recommended".

"The designation, if granted, would have required a significant financial investment and the University considers that it would be better to continue to prioritise investment in developing and honing our teaching, learning and research offering, in collaboration with industry," the letter to all staff read.

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A letter to Clare County Council formally notifying them of the decision to withdraw the application stated "emphatically" that reasons for the withdrawal had "nothing to do with the council", praising them as an "exemplary partner at all times".

The letter to Clare County Council went further in explaining UL's reasons for withdrawing the SDZ application.

It cited delays in progress with the Limerick Northern Distributor Road, the current governance situation at the university, and imminent changes to planning legislation which would remove the provision for designation of SDZs.

Reading the letter at the November council meeting on Monday, November 11, Chief Executive Pat Dowling expressed his disappointment at UL's decision, saying senior management had been working to keep the project alive "for a number of weeks".

"We have dealt with three different presidents over an extensive period of time, we've invested a lot of effort into this project, it's disappointing," he said.

Councillors also shared their disappointment over UL's decision, with Independent Clonlara Cllr Michael Begley calling it "a sad sort of a letter to hear".

However he said that any future campus expansion at UL would surely take place in south east Clare, as there was "not much land to play around with in Limerick".