Limerick City and County Council has announced a new pilot initiative aimed at improving the visual appearance of Limerick City Centre and the County’s main towns.
‘Great Streets’ is a partnership scheme where the Local Authority is providing a grant of €1,000 or 50% of the cost of the works towards painting or improving the appearance of buildings on selected streets.
The initiative will involve retailers and the Local Authority working together to showcase all that is best on our streets in Limerick City and County,” explained Mary Hayes, Economic Development Department, Limerick City & County Council.
“Roches Street is the designated pilot street in Limerick City Centre, the Street’s businesses and the Council are undertaking improvement works at present and these works are due to be completed in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we will be in contact with the main businesses in Kilmallock, Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale in order to determine if a street in the core retail area of these important towns wish to partner with the Council on the scheme this year.”
Ms. Hayes said ‘Great Streets’ grants will only be awarded on an entire street basis.
“Grants will only be awarded where all the building owners come together to paint all the buildings on a given street, the extent of which will be agreed in advance with the Council. This ‘entire street approach’ will create a greater impact and showcase the selected street to its optimum effect,” she added.
‘Great Streets’ builds on the success of two other schemes aimed at improving occupancy and footfall rates in the City Centre and the County Towns of Kilmallock, Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale. The Council’s Business and Retail Incentive Scheme provides grant aid for the occupancy of vacant premises with business and retail uses, while ‘Creative Limerick: Connect to the Grid’ provides for the temporary occupation of retail units, by start-up businesses in the creative sector and other areas while they are between retail lettings.
The initiative is also one of the objectives of the ‘Limerick 2030’, the €250 million economic and spatial plan for Limerick launched by Limerick City and County Council in 2013.
Liam Conneally, Senior Planner with Limerick City and County Council noted that Limerick 2030 sets out a number of ways by which the appearance and potential of city centre locations can be transformed.
“Great Streets is part of ongoing efforts to transform how the city centre looks and repositions itself as the premier regional shopping destination and a desirable place to do business. Such initiatives are important if locations like the city centre and key County towns are to attract new investment and business,” added Mr. Conneally.
