The closing date for public submissions to the community plan is Friday, April 7
By Ann Mc Donald
The Limerick Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) 2023 – 2028 is a 6-year plan for both the local economic development and local community development across Limerick.
The overall aim of the plan is to promote well-being and quality of life to citizens and communities, including all people working and living in the county.
Meetings with the public have been held around the county to allow for people to contribute their views and ideas, as well as informing them about the LECP.
Eileen Humphreys, researcher in the Community Tourism & Culture Directorate at Limerick City and County Council, said that the meetings have had a good reception and that the people attending the meetings have had excellent contributions.
“As well as the open Public Meetings, we are doing some targeted consultations to reach groups that wouldn’t normally participate in public consultation meetings. For instance, we have done workshop sessions with people from different cultural backgrounds who are migrants to Limerick,” she said.
The plan aims to achieve the sustainable development of communities in Limerick, which means:
- People, wherever they live and from different backgrounds, can enjoy a good quality of life with access to services they need, spaces and places for recreation and have opportunities to participate in community and civic life;
- Limerick is a good place for business and employment, providing good quality jobs for all
- We have a vibrant living city and towns and villages that are built up from the core and are safe places to visit, to live in, to shop and to work in;
- We can live more sustainably protecting our environment, the natural landscapes and nature, and adapting to the big challenges we face with climate change;
- We are resilient to new and sometimes unexpected challenges. We can find new ways of doing things and adapt to change.
The goal of the LECP is to establish the objectives and actions necessary to promote and support the economic development and the local and community development of the relevant Local Authority area for a six-year period.
This will be done by the LECP and in partnership with other economic and community stakeholders.
Ms Humphreys noted that housing was one of the main issues raised in both urban and rural Limerick, as well as support for local businesses.
“The need to improve or construct new community facilities, places and spaces for recreation, address dereliction, develop/enhance green space, improve public transport services, local connectivity of walkways/footpaths, develop walking trails, landscape management/development of the potential of our natural resources including rivers for recreation and amenity, traffic and parking have been identified,” she said.
“In the city, pushing out the living city agenda is a priority where a mix of people are attracted to live in the city centre including student Limerick, workers in city centre services, older people and families.”
The Draft Socio-Economic Statement contains statistical and other relevant information on the social and economic profile of Limerick, the high-level goals of the plan as well as a Vision Statement of what the LECP hopes to achieve for Limerick, and objectives that the plan hopes to achieve, including the Sustainable Economic Development Objectives, Sustainable Community Development Objectives, and Sustainable Integrated Objectives.
Meetings with the public have been held around the county to allow for people to contribute their views and ideas, as well as informing them about the LECP.
Submissions from the public can be submitted here, by emailing lecp@limerick.ie or in writing to LECP, Urban and Rural Community Development Department, Community, Tourism & Cultural Directorate, City Hall, Merchants Quay, Limerick V94 EH90.
The closing date for the receipt of submissions is at 5pm on Friday, April 7.
