REGIONAL co-operation is essential to the advancing of a proposal of a strategic development zone between Clare County Council and the University of Limerick, a Clare TD has stressed.

Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND) said both parties need to engage fully and constructively with Limerick City and County Council and other regional interests in their bid to have the university campus in County Clare and its hinterland designated as an Economic Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).

Limerick City and County Council plus Oireachtas members in the Mid-West region must be fully behind the proposal to develop Europe’s first twenty first century university town if it is to pass the initial hurdle of receiving SDZ designation from Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy McNamara maintained.

Establishing an SDZ has been targeted and zoned in successive County Development Plans. “The project was first announced in 2018 and it appears that progress has been slow in the intervening four years. However, it is better that the project garners the necessary support across the region before SDZ designation is sought,” the Scariff native stated.

He added, “I fully support this proposal which is hugely ambitious both in terms of its scale and its scope. Securing SDZ designation is the first step on a long road that will also include the development of a detailed masterplan and extensive engagement with stakeholders and landowners before the proposal ever proceeds to construction stage. Regional buy-in is therefore required in these early stages if the project is to proceed.”

“I call on Limerick City and County Council and all Oireachtas members from across the Mid-West to show their support for the project, which presents significant potential for the economic development of the region and country,” Deputy McNamara concluded.

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If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

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