New public swimming pool earmarked to make splash in Limerick city centre

A NEW public swimming pool is being explored for Limerick city centre.

In a move being championed by Mayor John Moran, a new municipal sports facility is earmarked for a site near Limerick bus and rail station.

Limerick City and County Council along with the Land Development Agency (LDA) have put out a call to consultants to carry out a feasibility study to develop the facility.

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Crucially, two of the three options envisaged for the new centre - planned for land near Hyde Road and Caledonian Park - will feature a swimming pool.

The other is a leisure centre alone.

Consultants are being asked to look at options for a 25 metre, four-lane swimming bath, alongside a four-court sports hall, fitness gym, studio spaces and a cafe.

The document inviting companies to carry out the study states in the event of space restrictions, “the council’s preference would then be for a swimming pool before a four-court sports hall.”

Speaking to the Leader about the plan, Mayor Moran said: “I am a real big fan of this.”

“I want it to be municipal, so then people can pay as they go,” he said.

As things stand, there is just one public swimming pool in the city - at Grove Island in Corbally.

“I grew up at a time when Limerick had swimming pools in Rathbane and St Enda’s, and they were fully accessible,” he said.

“We’ve already done repair work in Grove Island, the pool at Askeaton has opened. So now it’s a case of doing the planning for something in the city centre,” Mayor Moran added.

Historically, Limerick has had fewer municipal pools than other Irish cities.

If this goes ahead, it will mark a return of swimming to the southside for the first time since 2011 when St Enda’s at Kilmallock Road closed.

The area where the municipal facility is planned is part of a 50-acre site dubbed the Colbert Quarter by the LDA, which the executive mayor once chaired.

The LDA is the State body responsible for increasing the supply of housing, mainly by developing public land for affordable and social homes and related infrastructure.

The aim of the Colbert Quarter is to deliver up to 2,800 new homes, and create a new urban district at the eastern edge of the city centre, around Limerick’s bus and rail hubs.

Mayor Moran added: “I’m a huge fan of swimming pools. They are facilities which can be used by all ages. Even if you’re not able to run, you can swim. So I do believe we should have more of them.”

The provision of the new sports centre, including a swimming pool is a key part of the mayor’s action plan.

Last year, he outlined his bid for Government funding to bankroll the sports hub.