NEWCASTLE WEST <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> 2008Manufactur<strong>in</strong>g has played a major role <strong>in</strong> the localemployment sector <strong>in</strong> Newcastle <strong>West</strong>. The largestmanufactur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry is Ballygowan Water Ltd. Recentclosures of other manufactur<strong>in</strong>g plants, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>gCastlemahon Poultry Process<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Plan</strong>t, Kantoher KerryFoods (Poultry), S&S Foods and O’Reilly Foods have raisedconcerns <strong>in</strong> the community <strong>in</strong> relation to the retention ofemployment <strong>in</strong> the area.Public Sector services such as St. Ita’s Hospital, schoolsand Council <strong>Area</strong> Offices provide other large employmentbases.The Shannon Development Lands to the north of Newcastle<strong>West</strong>, zoned Industrial with<strong>in</strong> the 2001 <strong>Plan</strong>, rema<strong>in</strong> mostlyundeveloped to date. This represents a large land bank <strong>in</strong> asuitable location to expand <strong>in</strong>dustrial enterprise with<strong>in</strong> thetown.3.5 Access and MovementVehicle CirculationThe N21 Limerick to Killarney Road pass<strong>in</strong>g throughNewcastle <strong>West</strong> causes major traffic congestion issuesthroughout the year, but particular <strong>in</strong> the summer monthswith tourist traffic travell<strong>in</strong>g to and from County Kerry. TheRegional and <strong>Local</strong> roads converg<strong>in</strong>g on the Squarecontribute to the congestion experienced <strong>in</strong> the core retailarea, which has been recognised through communityconsultation as one of the key issues fac<strong>in</strong>g the town. Theneed for a town bypass is considered essential tosignificantly improve the town centre environment forpedestrians and ease of movement for local motorists.<strong>Local</strong> Distributor RoadIn October of 2006 the Council sought a variation to theexist<strong>in</strong>g LAP to <strong>in</strong>troduce a new ‘Southern Distributor Road’,<strong>in</strong>tended to serve local transport needs and to facilitatefuture development with<strong>in</strong> the town.The alignment as proposed <strong>in</strong> this document extends aroundthe southern boundary of this plan.N21 BypassThe proposed N21 Bypass for Newcastle <strong>West</strong> is currentlyat the prelim<strong>in</strong>ary design phase only. To date it isunderstood that NRA fund<strong>in</strong>g has been allocated for aconstra<strong>in</strong>ts and feasibility study for N21 improvementsbypass<strong>in</strong>g both Newcastle <strong>West</strong> and Abbeyfeale to theCounty Boundary. A broad constra<strong>in</strong>ts corridor has beenestablished and the Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary Design work will identifypreferred route corridors and options, estimated to bepresented for public consultation <strong>in</strong> 2008 at the earliest.Park<strong>in</strong>gA high proportion of park<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the commercial core is onstreet<strong>in</strong> Market Place, with a private car park at Supervaluand an adjo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g public car park <strong>in</strong> Church Street. Theexist<strong>in</strong>g on-street park<strong>in</strong>g is at a premium and can contributeto haphazard traffic movements. A limited number of privatecar parks exist outside the central area, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Tesco, Lidland the Council <strong>Area</strong> office.At peak times, traffic congestion can be heavy around theBoher Bui and other school locations.Public TransportAn hourly Bus Eireann Service operates between Newcastle<strong>West</strong> and Limerick (journey time 50 m<strong>in</strong>s.) and to Tralee(journey time 1 hour 20 m<strong>in</strong>s.), runn<strong>in</strong>g from 9.00am to8.00pm.The Limerick – Tralee Railway L<strong>in</strong>e to the north of the townwas closed <strong>in</strong> 1963, and there are no known plans forpassenger services to be resumed <strong>in</strong> the foreseeable future.3.6 Service InfrastructureWater SupplyThe Newcastle <strong>West</strong> water supply is sourced from the watertreatment works located to the southeast of the town atCastlemahon. General Water usage of the town is currently600,000 gallons per day approximately, and the system isoperat<strong>in</strong>g at almost 100% capacity.The Council presently has a project underway to supplementthe exist<strong>in</strong>g town water supply, due to recent growth <strong>in</strong>hous<strong>in</strong>g, through a bored well at Tobergal, southwest ofNewcastle <strong>West</strong>, which is <strong>in</strong>tended to provide asupplementary supply for the summer months.The upgrad<strong>in</strong>g of the exist<strong>in</strong>g water treatment plant is thema<strong>in</strong> priority on capital projects schedule to <strong>in</strong>crease theoverall capacity of the plant, extract<strong>in</strong>g from River Deel atCastlemahon to ensure adequate supply for most of theyear, supplemented by the Tobergal Well.16 Section 3: CHARACTER and LAND USE APPRAISAL
NEWCASTLE WEST <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> 2008Sewerage Ma<strong>in</strong>s Infrastructure and Treatment WorksThe Wastewater Treatment <strong>Plan</strong>t is located on thesoutheastern edge of Newcastle <strong>West</strong> <strong>in</strong> the townland ofCloonyscrehane, discharg<strong>in</strong>g treated effluent <strong>in</strong>to the RiverDeel. The plant has a design capacity of 6,000 populationequivalent (PE). At present the capacity of the plant isestimated to be at 5,500. The upgrade of the Waste WaterTreatment <strong>Plan</strong>t is the second priority on the capital projectsschedule.A comb<strong>in</strong>ed system is <strong>in</strong> place for Foul and Storm waterwith<strong>in</strong> the town. This has major implications for the capacityof the exist<strong>in</strong>g sewerage network, particularly at times oflarge return period storms, where overflow of untreatedwastewater <strong>in</strong>to waterways has occurred when stormwaterdom<strong>in</strong>ates the system.3.7 Natural EnvironmentThe Rivers Arra and Daar are the ma<strong>in</strong> amenity features ofNewcastle <strong>West</strong> and have had a strong <strong>in</strong>fluence on thehistoric development of the town. The River Daar, a tributaryof the Deel, forms a natural boundary to the northeasternedge of the town. Both the Arra and Daar offer considerablepotential for contribut<strong>in</strong>g more positively to the generalamenity of the town.The Castle Demesne provides a valuable amenity resourceat the centre of the town, compris<strong>in</strong>g stands of mature treesand large open grassland areas reserved <strong>in</strong> publicownership. This facility is well utilised by the local communityand has been subject of tree plant<strong>in</strong>g and improvementschemes <strong>in</strong> recent years.River Arra through the town centreCastle Demesne Community ParklandSection 3: CHARACTER and LAND USE APPRAISAL17