Attributes • Close proximity to Shannon Foynes Port and Shannon Estuary; • Scope for greater collaboration between Listowel, Rathkeale and Abbeyfeale; • Manufacturing base in healthcare, joinery, food and beverages, and machinery; • New investment from companies such as Ortec Inc (locating its European headquarters in Newcastle West) and the expansion of Filtertek has created a more resilient employment base; • Availability of labour – the 20-39-year age group accounts for almost a third of the population and there is a large non-Irish national population, which accounted for 23.7% of the town’s population in 2016. This is an important factor in expanding the growth potential of the local economy; • Development of the Great Southern Trail as a recreational greenway for walking and cycling through West Limerick with the potential of extending to Listowel.
Key Infrastructural Requirements i. Newcastle West Distributor Road and other transport measures through a Local Transport Plan; ii. Wastewater treatment and water services improvements; iii. Development of a regional athletics hub to service 9 athletic clubs and 41 primary and post-primary schools in the catchment area of Newcastle West; iv. Investment for the development and full utilisation of the Great Southern Trail.
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Newcastle West a. To support and promote the role of Newcastle West as a strategically located urban centre of significant influence in a sub-regional context. In particular, it is an objective to promote the opportunity for inter- regional collaborations across county boundarieswith Abbeyfeale, Listowel and Rathkeale and locations identified in the Strategic Integrated Framework Plan for the Shannon Estuary, which offer collective strengths and potential for project partnerships to drive sustainable economic growth in the West Limerick/North Kerry area; b. To support the initiatives of the Atlantic Economic Corridor to realise the full potential of the Newcastle West enterprise assets to support job creation, improve competitiveness, attract investment and create future economic growth; c. To support the delivery of the infrastructural requirements identified for Newcastle West
subject to the outcome of the planning process and environmental assessments; d. To support and promote the tourism potential of Newcastle West’s historical heritage to facilitate the expansion of the existing tourismoffer and to develop connectivity to and synergies with Newcastle West and the Great Southern Greenway; e. To support the identification of opportunities for investment in incubation and innovation infrastructure for ICT and related companies and capitalise onNewcastleWest’s ability to accommodate remote working, enterprise start-ups and up scaling companies.
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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