Clare to lose out on investment opportunities

CLARE will lose out on major investment opportunities if a new strategic planning and development blueprint is adopted, Councillor PJ Kelly has warned.

 

His warning came after it emerged €150.7 million out of total €169.1m in planned expenditure in Phase 1 of the Transport Implementation Plan was targeted for Limerick City.

This translates to 87% of Phase 1 of investment programme assigned to Limerick City with 13% for the rest of the region including Clare.

Limerick City’s population of 57,106 of the region’s total population of 379,327 represents only 15% of the region’s citizens, not 87% as per recommended transport investment. Even allowing for a Limerick Metropolitan City population of 91,454, it would represent 24% of region’s population.

Clare county councillors have claimed the Mid-West Strategic Plan (MWASP) offers very little for Clare and provides too much investment opportunities for Limerick City at the expense of the Banner County.

While this plan has been described as a “non-statutory transport and guidance document”, Councillor Kelly said it was a “stealth” document.

“If this plan is adopted in its current form, it will essentially be a blueprint for the region and will give special status to promoting investment and development in Limerick City at the expense of Clare and other areas.

“This will have an impact on leveraging EU investment. This is a very serious issue. The spatial strategy hasn’t worked for rural parts of Clare,” he said.

Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Daly confirmed the county manager, Tom Coughlan had organised a workshop concerning the plan next month.

“This strategy provides very little development prospects for Clare and is Limerick City orientated,” he said.

Claiming that Clare was just getting the “crumbs from the regional table”, Councillor Johnny Flynn said the reversal of the proportional spending in Phase 1 is required to justify avoidance renaming the Strategy as a Limerick City Area Strategic Plan.

“Such disproportionate allocation of investment is contrary to the principles of equity and balanced regional development.

“This document is fundamentally based on an assumption that it is desirable and should be planned that 75% of future population growth to 2030 in the region occurs in Limerick City. However, people will not be herded as some experts think, they in fact choose with their feet with regard to where they choose to live,” he said.

Mr Liam Conneally, director of the Mid-West Regional Authority explained (MWASP) is a collaborative initiative of the constituent local authorities of the Mid-West Region, the Mid-West Regional Authority and the departments of Transport and Environment to prepare a strategic land use and transport plan for the Mid-West Region.

It provides for the first collaborative strategic vision for the future growth and development of the region to sustain a population of 500,000 by 2030.

Mr Conneally said it is a strategic evidence-based approach to the identification of the land use planning, transportation and infrastructural needs and opportunities of the region, which will serve as a platform for seeking future investments, job creation, urban and rural regeneration and the planning of future amenities and services for the Mid-West.

“The preparation of MWASP at this point in time is needed more than ever to underpin the balanced development of the region and to position the Mid-West Region so that we can compete with other regions for national and EU funding and inward investment.

“While the plan has identified the need to promote Limerick City, it also identifies a range of infrastructural deficits and opportunities in rural areas that need to be addressed for the Mid-West to fulfil its economic and social potential.

“The plan will provide investors and policy makers with current regional data upon which to base their decisions and this should improve investor confidence and promote the attractiveness of the Mid-West as a region within which to do business,” he said.

The transport model accompanying the plan will provide an asset for the future planning and development of transport infrastructure, improved public transport and urban development in the region, resulting in reduced commuting times, travel distances, access to facilities and for the first time, an opportunity to provide an integrated multi-modal public transport system to serve the needs of the region.