Utilising the EU-supported THRIVE programme – Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme, Limerick City and County Council are preparing an Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West.
Newcastle West is the largest town in County Limerick (population 7,209 in 2022). It attracts people from a wide catchment to live, work, shop and socialise.
The population of the town has grown and it is now a multi-cultural town with many nationalities. In the last census (2022), just under 30% of the population of the town were not born in Ireland.
Maintaining the town’s strength as a market town since the 18th Century, the local economy has a strong manufacturing base and quality jobs. It has strong commercial functions, a thriving retail sector and services in education, health and other areas, providing for people living in the town and its wider rural and agricultural hinterland. Newcastle West’s function as a strong market town, its early history and heritage centred on the Castle and its cultural and arts offering are also key to its identity.
Utilising the EU-supported THRIVE programme – Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme, Limerick City and County Council are preparing an Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West.
This strategy focuses on the town centre and will be developed with citizen engagement and in consultation with local businesses, public and voluntary and community organisations in Newcastle West. As part of the strategy, we will identify a small number of key heritage-led physical projects that have the potential to revitalise the Town Centre.
The Integrated Urban Strategy and identification of key projects for the town centre will draw on the local heritage and culture of Newcastle West and engagement with people from the diversity of cultures and backgrounds present in the town as well as the businesses and voluntary organisations. It will build on existing local authority plans and strategies for the town.
This strategy will align with the principles of government’s Town Centre First policy and the Newcastle West Local Area Plan 2023-2029.
- Funding
- Development of Integrated Urban Strategy
- Existing Strategies and Plans
- Public Engagement
- DREAMS for Newcastle West
- Preparation of an Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West
- Latest Updates
- Have Your Say
Funding
Limerick City and County Council successfully secured €199,116 of funding to prepare this Integrated Urban Strategy as part of Strand 1 of the THRIVE Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme. The scheme has been co-designed by the Regional Assemblies in Ireland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to address European, national and regional policy objectives. THRIVE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
THRIVE adopts the practice and principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) methodology. The NEB is centred on delivery of sustainable solutions for transforming the built environment and fosters change in lifestyles needed for the “green” transition. The NEB methodology involves three strands which shall be incorporated into any potential future project:
Together Sustainable Beautiful
Development of Integrated Urban Strategy
| Autumn 2024 | Winter 2024 | Spring |
| First community information event | Citizen and stakeholder co-creation workshops | Project pipeline developed and reviewed |
| Project promotion and public engagement | Preparation of Draft IUS | Completion of IUS |
| Community workshops | Citizen and stakeholder feedback workshop |
Existing Strategies and Plans
This new Integrated Urban Strategy will be formulated taking account of existing plans that have been developed by Limerick City and County Council, such as those below. This will allow the Integrated Urban Strategy to build on analysis and research from other periods of work for Newcastle West.
Public Engagement
Our first public engagement events took place on the 3rd and the 5th of October in the Square, Newcastle West.
This was a public information event for the people of Newcastle West where we introduced the project, discussed the potential of an Integrated Urban Strategy for the Town Centre and heard people’s opinions and feelings about the Town Centre.
People we met on the street completed surveys at the event and spent time talking to us about the town - what’s good about it, what issues are presenting and what we can do to improve the town centre. Others took our information leaflet with the link to the online version of the survey. This online survey is still open and we invite people who live, work in or visit Newcastle West to share their thoughts and ideas with us - Have your say!
Throughout the month of October we have built on this initial engagement and continued by meeting with different groups weekly to get a good cross-section of views on local issues and priorities. In parallel we have also held one-to-one meetings with people that have a stake in the town and a good knowledge of it, across business interests, public agencies, sport, culture and arts and community so were are aware of the different perspectives.
The survey closed at the end of October. On the 7th of November we held a feedback meeting with stakeholders in the Newcastle West Municipal District Office to share the journey of our public engagement process, present the information gathered and ideas emerging to progress the revitalisation and development of the town.
See details of future public events and how you can engage in the process in the Latest Updates sectionBack to top
DREAMS for Newcastle West
On the 25th of November, we co-hosted an online ‘Think Tank’ with BUSarchitektur, the Austrian consultancy firm assisting in the engagement process to develop the Integrated Urban Strategy.
The Think Tank was an opportunity to engage with local businesses, representatives from public bodies and industry as well as community and voluntary representatives across arts and culture, sport and community development groups. The Think Tank discussed ideas, which we called ‘Dreams’, to re-imagine and re-design the town landscape.
The discussions were structured around ‘4 Dreams’ - each focused in different areas of the town centre and addressed to different themes. The themes were named: Evolution, Transformation, Co-Creation and Disruption. For more details on the ‘4 Dreams,’ please refer to the Draft Integrated Urban Strategy.
Spaces and Places
In December 2024 and January 2025, we ran a Co-design and Co-creation engagement project titled ‘Spaces and Places’ with the Desmond College Transition Year students. The aim of the project was to look at Newcastle West and the unused, forgotten and empty spaces and buildings in the town centre, and to come up with ideas to re-use these spaces and places in the eyes of young residents.
The engagement and learning from this project with the students fed into the development of the Integrated Urban Strategy. For more details on the ‘Spaces and Places’ project, please refer to the Draft Integrated Urban Strategy.
Preparation of an Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West
After the last few months of public engagement, research and analysis, the draft Integrated Urban Strategy has been completed. The Draft is out for public consultation, observations and submissions between Saturday 29th March 2025 to Tuesday 6th May 2025 inclusive.
This strategy is focused on Newcastle West town centre and its revitalisation. The aim is to make Newcastle West a great place to live for all age groups and sections of the community, a great place to work, to run a business and to visit.
Latest Updates
Last updated: 2nd April 2025
Please share your thoughts and observations on the Draft Integrated Urban Strategy here; Draft Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West | Limerick City & County Council's Online Consultation, Survey and Application Form Portal
Have Your Say
We invite you to share your thoughts on the strategy. There are different options and opportunities to do so. You can see the document ONLINE by visiting our MyPoint consultation page.
Printed copies of The Draft Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West are also on public display during normal office hours from Saturday 29th March 2025 to Tuesday 6th May 2025 inclusive at the following locations:
- Limerick City and County Council, Corporate Headquarters, Merchants Quay, Limerick;
- Limerick City and County Council, County Hall, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick;
- Newcastle West Municipal Office, Áras William Smith O’Brien, Gortboy, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick;
- Public library in Newcastle West.
Submissions or observations on the Draft Integrated Urban Strategy may be made between Saturday 29th March 2025 to Tuesday 6th May 2025 inclusive, via the following methods:
Online via MyPoint: Draft Integrated Urban Strategy for Newcastle West | Limerick City & County Council's Online Consultation, Survey and Application Form Portal
By email: towncentrefirst@limerick.ie
In writing to: Town Centre First, Rural Development, Rural, Culture, Community and Tourism Development Directorate, Limerick City and County Council, Merchants Quay, Limerick, V94 EH90.
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