MAYOR of Limerick John Moran has made a “bold” financial commitment to the village of Patrickswell, one he believes could provide up to 1,500 new homes along with a range of amenities for the growing population.
Mayor Moran has allotted a “substantial portion” of his mayoral fund to the purchase of 70 acres of land at Attyflin in Patrickswell, to the tune of around €4million.
The Mayor expressed hopes that the land will provide much-needed housing for the village, including up to 1,500 new “private and public homes for purchase and rent, as well as amenities for all of the village”, adjacent to the Adare/Foynes railway line, the M20/N21 motorway, and local businesses.
“The lands will be used to build a whole new neighbourhood-led expansion of the village, which we’ll soon have to start calling Patrickswell ‘town’,” Mayor Moran said, himself a native of Patrickswell.
“I want to be fully transparent – this is a bold investment of circa €4million that will represent a substantial portion of the mayoral fund budget for 2025,” he added.
“However, it reflects what I have said from before I was elected and since I have taken office: housing isn’t just a priority – it is the priority.
“One of the key next steps is making these lands attractive for the private sector to build much needed private housing. To that end, once contracts are signed, I will be making a full masterplan a priority. This will involve an intense consultation process with local residents and community groups.”
Mayor Moran said that he and the Council had “our collective eyes” opened by local councillor Fergus Kilcoyne, who advocated for “the potential of these lands”.
“All of these steps are pieces of a jigsaw that we are putting together that has one overall aim: solving Limerick’s housing crisis,” Mayor Moran said.
Welcoming the Mayor’s vote of confidence in Patrickswell, Cllr Kilcoyne noted that the village “has huge potential and we need to harness this and the purchase of this key strategic site now gives us the opportunity to achieve so much”.
“When this property went on the open market for sale, I immediately contacted Mayor Moran. We met in Patrickswell, walked the village, and viewed the property. We discussed the merits of the Council acquiring the lands and using it to address the many competing demands and requirements for new housing, business, a new train station, a park and ride facility, enterprise, and community facilities including a large scale playground,” he said.
Fellow Patrickswell native and County Limerick TD Niall Collins also added support to the move, which he said “demonstrates huge foresight and ambition” for the village.
“The opportunity now to further develop Patrickswell must be planned and managed so as to achieve the best outcome for the local community,” he said.
