Limerick Regeneration

Ok, now I am worried.

My public health nurse informed me that more than a few not-so-nice-to deal-with families have moved into Westbury.

So much so that they have put off opening the Health Centre down the back until they have enough staff and security etc.

This was in passing conversation about the area etc.

Just came out of Tesco across the road where lots of dodgy youths were hanging around and beginning to think that we might move after all.

Not being snobby, but I have 3 kids and don't want to have to say don't walk to the shop/cycle around etc.

Maybe I am a bit alarmist but want them to feel safe when growing up in a city.

Question is: how far out of the city is relocation happening? We are thinking of Killaloe/Castleconnell/Murroe.

But there are lots of new properties for sale in those areas under 285k which appears to be the cutoff point for the council. I guess the difference is that the public transport is not as readily available in those areas and will therefore be too far out for certain public housing tenants.

I heard of a man from St. Mary's Pk who was offered a house in Westbury but turned it down as it was too far out of the city!


Any ideas please anyone?

guitarmama said:

So much so that they have put off opening the Health Centre down the back until they have enough staff and security etc.

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But if families weren't being moved, you'd think it's ok to open without enough staff? If they don't have enough staff, then yes they have to delay regardless of who is in the area

guitarmama said:

This was in passing conversation about the area etc. Just came out of Tesco across the road where lots of dodgy youths were hanging around and beginning to think that we might move after all. Not being snobby, but I have 3 kids and don't want to have to say don't walk to the shop/cycle around etc. Maybe I am a bit alarmist but want them to feel safe when growing up in a city.

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Shopping centres attract teenagers. Most shopping centres have kids hanging around. What's the problem, are you frightened of them?

The fact that you have to post "Not being snobby" shows everything
A similar saying is " now I'm not a racist but......"
I don't know the ages of your children but who can say is they won't be cycling on footpaths or hanging outside shopping centres like other kids their age ( if they are old enough)

guitarmama said:

Question is: how far out of the city is relocation happening? We are thinking of Killaloe/Castleconnell/Murroe. But there are lots of new properties for sale in those areas under 285k which appears to be the cutoff point for the council. I guess the difference is that the public transport is not as readily available in those areas and will therefore be too far out for certain public housing tenants. I heard of a man from St. Mary's Pk who was offered a house in Westbury but turned it down as it was too far out of the city!

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I've never read a post full of such fear and NIBMYism! I think you need to find yourself an exlusive gated development somewhere that doesn't have 20% given to social and affordable housing. I think you'd be happy then.

It's true that people in social housing will probably have less access to cars. Many will be elderly too and might not drive.
But choose where you want to live and not where the people you are worried about don't live.

Killaloe is in Clare, why would Limerick people be relocated there, lots of places in Limerick?

I agree with the last poster, but I also understand the OPs concerns. Limerick is going through a very rough patch at the moment if you havent noticed. The more the council moves people out in to other areas the greater chance the disease will spread. I dont agree with ghettoisation either - but i hope there is more up the councils sleeve then buying up properties in other areas.

I rented a house out to RA back in sept. The lady seemed nice enough and i trusted her enough to let her in early - without all the RA money in place. After a week she rang to say she would have to move back to Waterford. She said that the area where the house was - is too close to a member of a feuding family. She said if they found out she was related that there would be gunplay. I poo pooed it at the time as the most elaborate excuse for breaking a lease I had ever heard...but now i wonder.

Ok Micmclo,

Firstly, I grew up in Ballymun Dublin so I know first-hand what it's like to trip over drug addicts and fear walking down the road as a child.
Secondly, I am not a snob, I have no problem with social and affordable housing close by where I live. However, I do object to the allocation of private housing to council tenants who pay the minimum rent and I believe that they would value a property and location more if they had a higher rent to pay, but that's beside the point.
What i do have a problem with is anti-social behaviour, and the fact that in the last year (since relocation has happened) there have been a number of incidents in Westbury and obvious drug dealing in broad daylight going on.
Therefore, I have every right to be bloody worried!
My real concern is that I would like my kids to grow up in a safe environment where they can go visit friends without being taunted by a drug-pusher.
So back off with your self-righteous indignation!

Hi there!!

I can see value in both sides of this discussion..I know Limerick very well.

When it comes down to the best for your kids..I can't help but say better safe then sorry, listen to your intuition and gather the full facts.

I agree every area has transitory problems of teenagers hanging around bored and getting into trouble ect..ect..that would not bother me. Nor would social or affordable housing. However I think most of us know when trouble is brewing locally that may be more serious and longlasting in nature.

Personally, I know of family members who became 'trapped' in certain housing estates in Limerick in the 80's because there was trouble associated with their estates and as a result no one wanted to buy their houses. This had a very real affect on their families. I'm not so sure I could see this happening around Westbury but to be honest I am not from around that area and would not have an indepth knowledge of it.

My suggestion is to keep things practical and list out all your priorities, for eg,
1.quiet/safe neighbourhood
2.Proximity to work
3.Availability of good local schools
4.Transport network etc etc etc...
5.Support network nearby..

Weigh your current area up against the new areas..Does your current area still fill all of these requirements or does one of the other areas suit you and your family better??

I would defo recommend Annacotty/Killaloe for schools etc..

Not sure if this helps you..hope it does.

Hi Pixied,

Thanks for the advice. My 3 kids are all under 3 so have to decide soon about schools etc. You are right about weighing up all options as I am sure every location has it's ups and downs. My gut instinct is to move further out of the city anyway as there are very few green spaces in the city for kids to play and I want to be closer to nature, nice walks etc. So I think it will probably be Killaloe/Murroe/Silvermines/Castleconnell. Let's hope we can sell now!

Hi Guitarmama,

Im a bit confused.

You currently live in weston and are worried about the type of individual being relocated to weston. Is this correct?

You are thinking of moving to Killaloe/Murroe/Silvermines/Castleconnell. But are worried that the relocation of the unsavoury types might also extend to these areas. Is this correct?

ajapale

Hi Ajapale,

No, I live in Westbury which is actually just over the Clare border but is normally classified as Limerick. Yes, I guess I am wondering if relocation will extend to areas outside of the city as the houses there fall under the threshold of the price the council will pay (280 euro approx). I have been told by the PHN that they have also been relocated to Clonlara and Sixmilebridge (both in Co. Clare) and far enough outside of the city so I guess I am wondering if anyone has any other insight on the situation. I know it's confusing, sorry!

Thought he said he lives in Westbury- out past the Corbally area. A differant part of the city to Weston.

Guitarmama, you are perfectly entitled to hope that your own neighbourhood stays safe and calm. As a Limerick person, I can appreciate your concerns, though I haven't lived there for some time. I know exactly what you mean and I think to be accused of NIMBYISM and snobbery by MICMLO is unfair.I think you will get a laugh if you find MICMLO'S post of 28/03/2006 re Nenagh in which advise re estates is given. Apparently it was alright then to say that certain estates in Nenagh were to be avoided at all costs but not alright now for you to have concerns about the potential effects on your area of all this regeneration.

Incidentally a lot of Limerick people who grew up in those areas are incensed that whole estates are going to be demolished now, some of those houses are less than thirty years old and were as good if not better than similar type private housing.The same council and the authorities that are now knocking them failed in their duty to lawabiding people and still do. Nobody has gone to jail yet for not sending their kids to school.etc.....surely the most obvious thing in stopping the cycle is school attendance.And if I were you I would have NO confidence in either the council or the authorities seeing to it that some of those trouble makers behave themselves in different estates. So look out for yourself and your own ......Nobody else will.

Pixied said:

Thought he said he lives in Westbury- out past the Corbally area. A differant part of the city to Weston.

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Sorry, my mistake. Limerick geography is not my strong point.

Well I'm forced to disagree with Brianne in that of relying on the Council or the Authorities to do anything if you do get troublesome tenants next to you. I speak for my own experience, me and my partner bought a semi-dettached house two years ago (I won't mention the area, but is wasn't supposed to be a "bad one") and we got abusive neighbours 6 months after moving there; ever since has been a battle to get them out, but all has been in vain. They are renting throuhg the healthboard to which we have complained in many occassions. Our property has been vandalised on several ocassions while we were away working (unlike them) including my car after we asked them politely to control their noise at 04:00 am; the answer of the so-called "authorities" was (literally): "If you don't see them doing it, there is nothing we can do". Finally, I've been in Limerick 8 years and I can tell you is a totally different town to what it used to be only 3 years back; if you want some good advise, stay clear of Limerick as much as possible and most certainly check and double-check who's living next to you and try to find out before hand if there are tenants on rent allowance next to you (and I don't mean students). Southill and Moyross were perfectly normal estates, not luxurious but adecuate; it was the people living within them who's made them what they are. By spreading these "families" (and all the other people that's so "proud" to belong or being identified with these "areas") around Limerick the anti-social trend will only be magnified and, as always, it will be the hard-working, tax-paying, non-scrounging, good-natured people of Limerick who will pay (literally) the price in years to come. Be careful out there.

micmclo said:

Shopping centres attract teenagers. Most shopping centres have kids hanging around. What's the problem, are you frightened of them?

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He would have reason to be fearfull for his kids, just yards from said shopping centre a 16 year old boy lost his life only last week, he was allegedly stabbed by another teenager.

[broken link removed]

It is very worrying now after that poor teenager was killed in Carrig Midhe across from Westbury. But I think that this regeneration will be a huge problem in the long run as people will be spread far and wide and will not want to move back from where they came from. It appears that the rehousing is all across the city and county, not just in Westbury so our plan is to stay put for a few years and when we can afford to trade up we will move out of the city with a view to having a bit of land for the kids to play on. Has anyone else been affected by the regeneration process?

I completly apologise for the comments I made to the OP last month. Very stupid and uncalled for on my part.
And yes, If I lived in a nice area of Limerick (though I don't know Westbury) and I saw my area being ruined I'd be outraged too.

However I do believe:
There is no point relocating people locating people to Co. Clare. Let Limerick decide what they want to do and not pass this off to other areas. Witness the scare stories in Borris-in-Ossary and Loughrea about Moyross residents being rehoused there. Surely you've seen these and yes that is NIMBYism at it's best
Spreading people in social housing is a better solution than putting them in one area and forgetting about them.

Once again, I apologise to the OP even their post was very alamist. And yes, I did identify bogey estates in Nenagh which was basically the same as this thread though it's extremly petty to search my posts from years ago to find "dirt". Pretty petty Brianne

micmclo said:

I completly apologise for the comments I made to the OP last month. Very stupid and uncalled for on my part.
And yes, If I lived in a nice area of Limerick (though I don't know Westbury) and I saw my area being ruined I'd be outraged too.

However I do believe:
There is no point relocating people locating people to Co. Clare. Let Limerick decide what they want to do and not pass this off to other areas. Witness the scare stories in Borris-in-Ossary and Loughrea about Moyross residents being rehoused there. Surely you've seen these and yes that is NIMBYism at it's best
Spreading people in social housing is a better solution than putting them in one area and forgetting about them.

Once again, I apologise to the OP even their post was very alamist. And yes, I did identify bogey estates in Nenagh which was basically the same as this thread though it's extremly petty to search my posts from years ago to find "dirt". Pretty petty Brianne

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You completely ruined your very decent apology, take it on the chin, you posted not very nice comments to the OP. It takes two seconds to have a look and see what other posts a poster has posted; usually one sees a particular viewpoint. However in your case, it was totally contradictory!!!
You were caught out !!!

Off topic posts deleted and thread locked.

If anyone wishes to discuss particular estates/developments/areas in Limerick they can start a new thread or tag onto an existing thread about that area in LLL

Broader issues surrounding Limerick Regeneration can be raised in LOS.

aj
moderator