Public opinion is being sought on Limerick's iconic Opera Site development following the announcement of a non-statutory consultation.

The project will be one of the largest urban developments undertaken in Limerick or outside of Dublin, with up to 3,000 expected to be employed at the site when fully completed.

The six-year programme is being undertaken by Limerick Twenty Thirty on behalf of Limerick City and County Council.

Following consultation, a planning application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

Limerick Twenty Thirty CEO David Conway said: "We are at a really exciting stage now for the project. Limerick City and County Council have secured loan funding of €170 million from the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank and we are on the verge of submitting a planning application for the project to An Bord Pleanála. So after some disappointments in the past when the site was in private ownership, we are now finally about to see one of the most eagerly awaited developments in the state come to fruition.

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"Before we submit the planning application, however, we want to give the public one last opportunity to make submissions. This will in fact, be the second publication consultation on the project. The first, in February following the publication of the design brief, generated a hugely positive response and showed the public interest and support there is for the project."

He continued: "The Opera Site will be the one of the biggest projects of its kind developed outside of the capital and that, in its own right, reflects the confidence and ambition there is in Limerick today. We are in a much different place and turning heads not just nationally but internationally. That's going to happen even more now because of Opera. These are exciting times for Limerick."

Details on consultation events or plans are available on the council's website.

(CM/MH)