€3m upgrade plan for Kilrush marina

KILMIHIL-based construction and civil engineering company, L&M Keating, has this week applied for planning permission for a €3m upgrade of Kilrush Marina and Boatyard.

 

If planning permission is granted, the development work will be carried out over five years and L&M Keating is likely to be granted ownership of the marina.

The marina centre, next to the marina, was built by L&M Keating in 1998 at a cost of €400,000.

If the development goes ahead, the company will construct a new pavilion building, landing pontoon, a new 40-berth marina pontoon, fixed and floating breakwaters, additional car parking, maintenance dredging works and land reclamation of the north-western marina basin to provide a boat storage area, L&M managing director Louis Keating explained.

Currently, Kilrush Marina operates 120 fully serviced berths, a marina centre and a boatyard.

“It’s a project I’d love to do. The marina badly needs it. I’m a sailing man myself and it’s our line of business. We do a lot of marine work all over the country. This is the home port and I’m delighted to be getting involved in it,” Mr Keating said.

“I’m reasonably confident we can make a good job of Kilrush, expand it and help it to at least break even and hopefully become profitable. We’re committed to carrying out the development over a five-year plan.

“Once we get planning permission, we’ll start work on it shortly after that. It’s an agreed programme with Shannon Development. In round figures it’s a €3m investment over the five years,” he confirmed.

At the end of the five-year development period, Shannon Development is likely to hand over ownership of Kilrush Marina to L&M Keating.

“There was a public tender to develop the marina. The bones of the deal is that we carry out the development and if and when Shannon Development is happy that we have performed what we were contracted to do, the ownership then transfers to us,” Mr Keating said.

He is hopeful that improving the marina infrastructure will broadly benefit the Kilrush economy.

“The long-term benefit I would see is that the general economic activity associated with the marina, including spin-off services, will hopefully leave a lasting impression on the area. If economic activity increases generally, we would be quite confident that there would be additional jobs.

“As regards employment in the marina, it really won’t change from what it is at the moment. Obviously, in the construction phase, if you spend €3m you generate some jobs for some months so there will be a bit of activity there,” Mr Keating stated.

Shannon Development issued a statement on the proposed work.

“It would be inappropriate for Shannon Development to comment at this time as an application for the development of Kilrush Marina and Boatyard, enabling it to benefit from significant upgrading and re-development works, will shortly be lodged with the planning department of Kilrush Town Council by L&M Keating Ltd,” the statement read.

Last September, when news of the development agreement between Shannon Development and L&M Keating became public, Shannon Development described the development as a “major milestone in Shannon Development’s plans for Kilrush Marina,” adding that “the company is confident that the agreement has the potential to enhance the marina operation and maximise economic benefits for the Kilrush area, which are key objectives of Shannon Development.”

L&M Keating Ltd civil works department specialises in marine civil engineering works including coastal protection, dredging and bridge rehabilitation works.

Projects completed by the company in this region include the refurbishment of Kilkee Waterworld, market sculpture works in Ennis and the reconstruction of the Eglinton Canal Pedestrian Bridge at NUI, Galway. The future of the marina was raised at the July 2012 meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

“People are concerned in the town regarding the future of the marina,” Councillor Liam Williams commented when proposing a motion that the town council seek an update from Shannon Development regarding the ongoing development of the marina.

Further back, in February 2007, Shannon Development announced a €50m development plan for Kilrush Marina, which they said would create 109 jobs and generate an estimated €6.6m for the local economy annually.

The proposed project involved a mixed-use development of Kilrush Marina and associated land bank. It also included the provision of 86 town houses, 50 marina holiday apartments, a retail/commercial park and a 125-bedroom four-star hotel development.

“Another essential element of the project will involve an estimated €4m expansion of the Kilrush Marina facility to include a clubhouse development, which will double the existing capacity, the automation of lock gates, breakwater, a new boatyard, a dinghy park and an additional 120 berths which will double the existing berthing capacity at the marina,” a Shannon Development statement issued in February 2007 read.

It was estimated that the proposed project, which didn’t happen, would take five years to complete.