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A €400m masterplan for the rejuvenation of one of Ireland's fastest growing towns has been drafted and will be formally launched at a public meeting next week.
The Masterplan seeks to guide and facilitate the future development of 90 acres of land in the centre of Shannon Town, as identified in the South Clare Economic Corridor Local Area Plan 2003. It is anticipated the plan, which aims to create up to 1,000 permanent jobs, will be implemented in phases over an extended timeframe of up to 10-15 years.
Among the proposals set out in the newly drafted Masterplan is the provision of the new Main Street, pedestrianised shopping precinct, Town Square, Civic Arts Centre, hotel, three-hectare Civic Park, Primary School, Medical Care Facility and School of Enterprise.
The plan, which promotes a series of energy efficient measures, also provides for a minimum additional population of 2,500 - 3,000 and up to 25,000 sq m of residential and commercial floor area in the centre of County Clare’s second largest town.
Murray Ó Laoire Architects, in association with property consultants DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and consulting engineers White Young Green have prepared the plan, on behalf of Clare County Council.
Shannon, the only twentieth century planned town in Ireland, was built in the 1960s on reclaimed marshland alongside Shannon Airport and Shannon Free Zone industrial estate. The town itself was intended as a home for the thousands of workers at the airport, surrounding industries and support services. It has, however, experienced considerable growth in population levels in recent years.
"The completed Masterplan contains an overall vision, planning framework and design guidance on the best potential development of the lands as an extension of the town centre in Shannon," explained John Bradley, Senior Executive Planner, Clare County Council.
"Shannon has all the traits of a suburb and few of the qualities of a town. The community needs a place and space that brings things and people together - a pulsing heart. The town centre must integrate properly with the existing centre, airport and industrial estate and estuary to give an overall package," he concluded.
(JM)
