Clare Fm - Podcasts

Ambitious plans for the creation of a new town and over 3,500 jobs in South-East Clare have been dealt a major blow. It comes as the University of Limerick as lead agency has officially withdrawn its joint application with Clare County Council for an economic Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) on lands to the North of its campus. It was envisaged the site would become a European Centre of Excellence in Dual Education and would contribute over €1.7bn to the economy annually. In a written correspondence to the local authority, Acting University of Limerick President Professor Shane Kilcommons stated the reasons for withdrawal included UL's current governance situation, a lack of progress on the Northern Distributor Road and imminent changes to planning legislation. Clonlara Independent Councillor Michael Begley is confident a revised version of the project is still possible despite the setback.