A €400 million plan to create 1,000 jobs in Shannon over the next 15 years was unveiled today.
The blueprint aims to create a new town centre on a 90-acres site in the Co Clare industrial hub still reeling from the Aer Lingus decision to axe Heathrow flights from Shannon Airport this month.
The proposals include plans for a new main street and town square as well as a civic arts centre, hotel, civic park, a primary school, clinic and an enterprise school.
The Masterplan was prepared on behalf of Clare County Council by Murray O Laoire Architects. Shannon, the only twentieth century planned town in Ireland, was built in the 1960s on reclaimed marshland alongside Shannon Airport and Shannon Free Zone industrial estate.
The town itself was originally intended as a home for local workers but saw rapid growth in population levels in recent years.
"The completed Masterplan contains an overall vision, planning framework and design guidance on the best potential development of the lands as an extension of the town centre area in Shannon," said Clare County Council Senior Executive Planner, John Bradley, "Shannon has all the traits of a suburb and few of the qualities of a town.
The community needs a place and space that brings things and people together - a pulsing heart. The town centre must integrate properly with the existing centre, airport and industrial estate and estuary to give an overall package."
The proposals also include 1,500 underground car parking spaces, a network of pedestrian and cycling routes as well as higher building design standards and building technology to achieve the greatest energy efficiency.
Other green energy initiatives in the blueprint include solar panels, rain water harvesting and five hectares of parklands and wetlands. The Shannon Masterplan will go on public display in the town tomorrow.
It must be approved by members of Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council before construction can begin.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and Tourism Minister Seamus Brennan today jointly announced that the Government has approved an economic and tourism development plan for Shannon Airport and its wider catchment area.
The scheme will specifically address the challenges of Open Skies. They said while €2 billion has been committed to transport infrastructure, including road projects and a western rail corridor, a new tourism marketing initiative would attract an anticipated €15 to €20 million over the next few years.
Mr Brennan said the funds would be implemented by Tourism Ireland in close consultation with key tourism industry interests in the area, Shannon Development and the Failte Ireland regions.
"The primary objective of the initiative will be to promote the wider catchment area of Shannon Airport by highlighting the attractions of the region through additional publicity and promotional activity," he said.
"The new tourism marketing programme will concentrate on highlighting the attractions of the Western regions, additional targeted publicity and promotional activity, developing markets around new gateways, including the Shannon-Paris CDG route, and striving to maintain good flows of business through existing routes."
PA