Plan at last in landbank controversy

ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER MASTERPLAN TO BE PREPARED FOR LISTOWEL LANDBANK

A MASTERPLAN is to be drawn up for the Castle Inch land- bank in Listowel, which has been mired in controversy since it was purchased in the early 2000s.

Kerry County Council paid € 7.5m for the two landbanks in the town of Listowel in the early 2000s – one at Bridge Road, Listowel ( 1.27 ha) and the other at Castle Inch ( 2.63 ha). The two landbanks have been lying idle since then after they were deemed ‘ undevelopable’ due to their location in a floodplain. The Castle Inch land- bank is the second largest liability the council has for land, with over € 3.3m still owed on the site according to a report last year. However, this controversial site is now being examined under changes to the Listowel Town Development plan discussed at this month’s Kerry County Council meeting.

The variation to the Listowel Town Development

plan is being made to meet housing requirements as laid out in the county development plan, and to allow changes to land zoning in the Listowel area. One of the key changes in the new plan is to allow for a master- plan to use the Castle Inch lands. The lands have not been zoned for any specific purpose, following advice from the planning regulator, but the changes allow planners to look at uses for the site, which will take flooding concerns into account.

The changes to the Listowel town development plan have been out to public consultation, with 39 submissions made.

Cllr Jimmy Moloney ( FF) called for the master plan for Castle Inch to be drawn up as soon as possible to ensure that these lands, lying idle for years, are used.