‘Planning is holding rural growth up’ - Limerick community demands action
ONE LIMERICK community that lost much of its population in the 2008 recession is looking to increase its housing capacity due to young families expressing an interest in moving back.
Killeedy community, which contains the villages of Ashford and Raheenagh, is pushing for the council to increase four types of housing in the area: elderly, affordable, rent to buy and service type housing.
A spokesperson for the local Kantoher Development Group (KDG) said a meeting was held where it was discussed that young couples were “finding it very difficult” to secure planning permission.
“This was due to a number of reasons including the issue of wastewater treatment,” they said.
The KDG, who own several sites across the community, intend on using the constructed wetland at Killeedy Eco Park to provide a wastewater treatment facility.
Killeedy is designated as a CLÁR region, having suffered “significant population decline” over the last 50 years, where its population dropped from 2,500 to less than 1,000 in total.
This was accentuated by the dramatic shockwave of the closure of the Kantoher Creamery in Killeedy in 2005, resulting in the loss of 138 jobs, ultimately leading to a large exodus of families.
A spokesperson for the KDG highlighted that business in the Kantoher Business Park has come full circle, with full employment in the area now supporting more than 200 jobs across 14 companies.
The next step, as set out in an information evening attended by 15 young couples looking to move into Killeedy, will be for a “discovery process” to establish the housing needs for all the community.
This will take place by way of surveys and audits on existing homes. There are over 100 derelict or vacant homes in the community.
Accelerate Change Together (ACT), a social enterprise of architects and policy specialists will examine the potential of bringing these derelict homes back to use for young families.
A large portion of the elderly population in Killeedy have also expressed their willingness to move into designated elderly homes, to allow young families to move into their forfeited rural homes.
Limerick Live understands that these new elderly homes are yet to be built once planning permission is granted by Limerick council.
“Young people want to move into our vibrant community with great schools and sports facilities. The facilities are there to cater for a renewed growth in population,” a KDG spokesperson said.