Chapter 5 - Sustainable Communities

Community infrastructure of a social, sporting, educational, and amenity value are crucial to provide opportunities for inclusion of all community members and provides benefits to health and helps attract inward investment. An Age Friendly Strategy for Limerick was adopted in 2015 and this commits to improving key areas of infrastructure service, information and overall social response to older persons issues and aims to improve overall quality of life. The Draft Castleconnell Local Area Plan 2023-2029 provides policy support for the expansion of existing community infrastructure and development of new services in Castleconnell that meets the needs of all sectors of the community.

Figure 5.1 – Castleconnell Playground

Policy C1: Community Infrastructure, Recreation and Open Space Strategic Policy: It is a policy of the Council to:

Support the provision of a broad range of high quality social/community, educational, healthcare and recreational facilities and infrastructure in Castleconnell.

5.1        Community and Education Facilities

Figure 5.2 Castleconnell National School

The provision of good quality educational and childcare facilities is important to support the development of sustainable communities and facilitate economic development in Castleconnell. There are currently 3 childcare facilities located in Castleconnell village (ACM Kidz, Castle Crèche and Sunny Lane Crèche), providing full-day care facilities, sessional services, preschool, crèche, and after school facilities. 

The primary school is located along Railway Road, and in the school year 2021/22 has an enrolment of 215 pupils.  There is also Youth Space services in the village in the Parish Hall and the ACM centre. Other community services, include a community café, active social group, sewing club, evergreens club and card nights are also held in the village.  Ballyhoura Development Group also run a number of programmes in the village through day and evening classes such as computers, gardening, flower arranging and art classes.  

A recent addition to community services includes an E-hub facility at Shannon House on the Main Street. There is also a part time HSE clinic in the village and a part time Garda Station located on Railway Road.

The primary role of the Planning Authority with regard to community facilities and services is to ensure that there is an adequate policy framework in place inclusive of the reservation of lands, should additional services be required.  The Council will continue to support further economic and social progress with regard to community services, including capital investment in community and continuing care services in Castleconnell.

Objective C1: Community and Educational Facilities: It is an objective of the Council to:

1. Ensure that there are sufficient educational and community facilities to meet the needs generated by proposed developments, by requiring the completion of a Sustainability Statement and Social Infrastructure Assessment for residential developments of 10 or more dwellings.
2. Ensure that childcare and education facilities are provided in tandem with new residential areas, at accessible locations, which maximise opportunities for walking, cycling and use of public transport and comply with all relevant standards.
3. Facilitate the development of lifelong learning facilities and digital capacity for distance learning.
4. Ensure that the existing school site is protected for educational use and that lands adjacent to the school are also protected for future expansion of the school, if required, subject to site suitability.
5. Support and facilitate the development and expansion of health service infrastructure by the Health Services Executive and other statutory and voluntary agencies and private healthcare providers in the provision of appropriate healthcare facilities and the provision of community based care facilities at appropriate locations, subject to proper planning consideration and the principles off sustainable development.       
6. Require future development of new community facilities to generally meet the following criteria of the 10 Minute Town Concept:

• Generally located within 800m walking distance of the village centre;
• Located centrally with respect to the community it serves, taking into account limitations of topography and the road and footpath network;
• Be either serviced or serviceable by public transport;
• Clustered with complementary community facilities, local retail services etc. and integrated with housing; and
• Located where a substantial proportion of the population reside, in particular older and less mobile/mobility compromised members of the community.

g)    Support and facilitate sports clubs, schools, cultural groups and community organisations in the provision, improvement and expansion of community services, sports and recreation amenities, multi-purpose spaces at appropriate locations that are universally accessible.  The Council promotes opportunities for multi and co-use active and passive recreational amenities including sports and recreational facilities, playgrounds and outdoor gym equipment within existing areas of open space.

5.2        Parks, Open Space and Recreation

Castleconnell has a range of recreational facilities and amenities, including sports clubs for gaelic games, soccer, kayaking, canoeing and a community playground adjacent to the River Shannon, the Castle Oaks hotel and the riverside walk.  The playground is well used by the community and equipment upgrades and maintenance works have recently taken place.  It is anticipated that an extension to the playground will take place during the lifetime of this plan.

The Plan supports the development of a community park within the confines of the village at the site marked Opportunity site 1 on the Land Use Zoning Map set out in Appendix 1 of this Plan.  In this regard a masterplan plan will be required to integrate this park with the adjoining residential developments to ensure adequate overlooking is provided to the park as well as providing a pedestrian link from Scanlon Park through to the village centre, a green space for nearby residents and developing a park and amenity facility to serve the needs of the whole community. 

The Strategic vision for Castleconnell set out in Chapter 3 recognises that if Castleconnell is the fulfil its role as a Level 3 settlement as set out in the Limerick Development Plan 2022-2028, it needs to provide community infrastructure in tandem with population growth.  To this end new open space/recreation facilities are to be provided in conjunction with new residential developments and there will be a requirement to provide new spaces as part of these developments in line with the following criteria.

Table 4: Public Realm Open Space Provision in Residential Developments in Castleconnell

The River Shannon and adjoining riverside walks are important contributors to the quality of life of the residents of the village and surrounding areas.  The identification of possible amenity walkways and cycle routes throughout the village forms an important part of the plan. 

Figure 5.3 – Fairy woods walk Castleconnell

There are many highly trafficked walking routes both around and within the village.  The 3.8km Sli na Slainte route begins at the car park of the playground and loops out to Daly’s Cross along the Dublin Road and back to the village via Belmount Road.  There is also a riverside walk which has potential to link into a potential greenway from University of Limerick to Castleconnell with the potential of a link onto Montpelier.  The development of this greenway will be of huge amenity value to the residents of the village and also offers tourism potential to the village. Careful consideration of its location will need to be given to any expansion or new walkways at these locations to safeguard the integrity of the SAC site.  Another walkway established as a recreational route in the village is the Castleconnell Bog Walk. 

Limerick City and County Council are committed to the provision, upgrade, maintenance and expansion of these leisure facilities in the village in conjunction with private, public and voluntary organisations, subject to funding.

Figure 5.4 – Riverside walk

Objectives C2 New Amenity Areas Walkways and Cycleways:  It is an objective of the Council to

1. Continue to facilitate the development of walkways and cycleways as indicated on the Amenity and Sustainable Transport Map (Appendix 1, Map 3) in co-operation with local interested parties, including the private, voluntary and public sector subject to funding. Any proposed development adjacent to walkways must incorporate connecting pathways into the designated walkway in their design. Developments shall be designed to overlook proposed walkways and shall link existing and proposed residential areas to each other, to amenity areas and to provide connections to the village centre.
2. Encourage walking and cycling as more convenient, popular and safe methods of movement in Castleconnell, and facilitate the provision of an attractive and coherent network of off-road footpaths and cycle facilities.  This will be achieved by:

• Provide a new Greenway linking Castleconnell with the University of Limerick and Montpelier and the wider Greenway \ Active Travel network.
• Provide secure cycle parking facilities at appropriate locations as opportunities arise.
• Encourage combined footpath and cycleway links along Belmont Road, the regional road R525, as far as Nelsons Cross, Lacka Road and along the River Shannon 

Objectives C3 Parks, Open Space and Recreation:  It is an objective of the Council to:

1. Examine the feasibility of blue-way opportunities/potential along the River Shannon in Castleconnell, subject to appropriate ecological assessment.
2. Protect existing open space by not permitting development, which encroaches on such open space, and protect semi-natural open space from inappropriate development and facilitate/support the provision of allotments or community gardens at appropriate locations.
3. Ensure new residential development provides high quality public open space and play-lots proportional to the number of residential units, having cognisance to accessibility, safety, permeability, place-making and requirements set out in Table 4 above.
4. Support the development of a local park at the site marked Opportunity Site 1.
5. Support equipment upgrade maintenance works and an extension to the community playground at the Ferrybank car park, subject to resources.