Limerick Development Plan sparks concerns about housing

THE MAYOR'S two-year progress report on the Limerick Development Plan 2022-2028 was presented to local councillors at a meeting of Limerick City and County Council on Monday, September 23.

The development plan places a very strong focus on housing and a total of 3,038 residential units were granted permission across Limerick during the first two years of the plan. Referencing research from other reports, the progress report states that approximately 1,632 dwellings have been completed across Limerick city and county in the first two years since the adoption of the Development Plan

Despite the increase in housing, Cllr Joe Leddin highlighted that they're two years into the plan and there is already a deficit of about three and a half thousand houses not built. “That's hugely concerning because if we do a rough estimate on the figure, that means we could fall short of in excess of 4,000 houses over the lifetime of this plan.”

Cllr Leddin continued: “How in the name of God can we as a city and county house and facilitate or accommodate another 50,000 of an increase in population if we can't even meet the targets that we've set in our own plan and of course that brings into question then the sites that are in the city that remain undeveloped.”

He said Limerick has a projected population increase of about 50,000 up to 2028. The Labour Party councillor proposed that the council invite the CEO of the Land Development Agency into the chamber to get an update on the sites the council had to give them.

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“We should have kept them ourselves and developed them.” Cllr Elena Secas seconded his proposal.
Cllr Elisa O'Donovan commented that it was “disappointing” to hear of the increase in retail vacancy in the city centre.

“I think that that is just not going to improve until we see more people living in the city centre.”
In the commercial city centre area, the number of vacant ground floor units has increased to 278 in 2024 from 228 units in 2023.

Cllr Daniel Butler questioned why private developers are not developing their property.
“I suspect that it's our density requirements in Limerick and probably across the country. The high densities are making it financially unviable for a lot of members.”

Senior planner Maria Woods, who presented the plan, stated: “In terms of the density in the city centre and the changes that might come out as a result of the NPF, (National Planning Framework) any changes in the NPF in the regional strategy have to be updated and then we'll have to review our plans.”

Mayor John Moran said: “We need to get funding to get sites even if we have to do the planning permission ourselves so that then people can just buy sites with planning permission.”

He emphasised that there's a climate emergency telling them they should be building apartments in the city. “Of something like 22 and a half thousand built in this country in the last while, only 1% of them have been done in Limerick.”