Cleeves Riverside Quarter public engagement set for Tuesday and Wednesday next as proposed masterplan for iconic site unveiled

The development options for a site that will be pivotal in shaping the future of Limerick will be laid bare next week as the public gets an opportunity to give its opinion on the masterplan for the iconic Cleeves Riverside Quarter at a two-day public engagement.

Tuesday and Wednesday next, March 28th and 29th will see Limerick Twenty Thirty (LTT), display a draft masterplan following deliberations over the past 12 months.

The public consultation will take place 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 28th March and 12 noon to 2pm on Wednesday 29th March at the Flaxmill Building in Cleeves Riverside Quarter accessible via North Circular Road, V94 EY71. Parking is available in Euro Car Parks across the road from the site entrance.

Representatives of the LTT Design Team will be on hand to take members of the public through the considerations, including the potential uses, opportunities, and constraints, for a site with transformational potential for the city and region.

The public consultation comes at an exciting time for Limerick Twenty Thirty, which this month saw construction on the iconic 3.7acre Opera Square in the city centre commence.

Among the objectives set for the historic Cleeves Riverside Quarter, which was one of Ireland’s leading industrial sites at the end of the 19th century when it employed over 2,000 people, are that it supports the growth of a strong local economy. The objectives also include encouraging investment, retaining and integrating its heritage and accommodating a mix of uses anchored by a public realm that links to the city core and the River Shannon, while at the same time delivering a high-quality, sustainable and innovative urban design.

The site is zoned ‘City Centre’ in the new Limerick Development Plan 2022-2028, meaning it is suitable for commercial, retail, educational, leisure, residential, social and community uses and facilities.

Once fully developed, Cleeves Riverside Quarter has the potential to help build a strong local economy through the creation of employment, residential accommodation, new local attractions, and encourage and facilitate new business investment.

This will be delivered through a dynamic mix proposed in the masterplan that includes residential units, commercial real estate and mix-use of educational and cultural/visitor attractions.

However, the site is not without constraints, which the masterplan also had to consider. The development of a complex site close to the river and the city centre, encompassing areas of ecological and heritage significance, brings with it both risks and challenges, as well as considerable and significant opportunities. The key constraints identified include a Flood Risk Area, Intense Traffic, Compromised Access, Steep Level Changes and Protected Structures.

There will also be a strong emphasis on public realm in the site, through initiatives including public access, walking and cycling networks; enhanced streetscape and legibility; removal of sections of the existing Cleeves wall and improving road and traffic circulation.

Cleeves Riverside Quarter has successfully secured a €35m grant under Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF)to help unlock and enhance the site.

Said Limerick Twenty Thirty CEO David Conway: “We have three key projects in the heart of the city. We set the standard with the multi-award winning Gardens International, which is completed and one of the finest office spaces in the country. We have just now embarked on the Opera Square construction programme, which is the single largest commercial development undertaken outside of Dublin and one that will be built to the best international standards in terms of design and sustainability.

“Cleeves Riverside Quarter is our third, a project that we are confident will maintain this high standard but yet will be something altogether different, reflecting and advancing the ambition of Limerick as an exciting city to live, work and play in. It’s a superb site, set on the banks of the River Shannon and has some wonderful historical, and existing architectural character, that will be celebrated in the finished product. There are not too many sites in the core of a city either that have their own reservoir and quarry, features that will also be central in the project.

“So, it’s going to be a superb blend of old and new, of residential and commercial, of cultural and recreational space. When completed, the Cleeves Riverside Quarter will be right up there with the very best mix-use city developments in Europe. That’s the level of ambition we have in Limerick Twenty Thirty and one we are determined to realise for Limerick and the wider region.”

Mr Conway added: “We’ve challenged ourselves to come up with a masterplan fitting for such a dynamic site and it’s now up to the public to view and review this. We look forward to next week’s consultation, which is a key part of the process and one we will be delighted to get feedback on.”