UL lodges planning application for former Dunnes Stores Limerick City site
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The University of Limerick is not currently planning to permanently move any sole university department or faculty to its new campus in Limerick City, new planning documents reveal.
However, the university does expect there to be "constant footfall" in the space and some students and staff could be permanently located there from its main campus in Plassey, or located there in blocks.
The university has sought an application for a change of use of the former Dunnes Stores site off Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick City.
This application is the first phase of the UL development on the site, the documents note. It is essentially a procedural change to allow for more activity in the building, as the site is currently zoned for retail use.
The university acquired the 5,535sq m site in 2019, which had remained empty since Dunnes closed its shop there in 2008.
UL is seeking to update the existing zoning for educational purposes. The university is also seeking permission to erect a 2m-high louvre screen to the proposed mechanical ventilation plant on the roof and ancillary works.
Last September, the university said it intended that the UL city centre campus would have upwards of 3,000 students and 250 staff in the building “when it reaches its full potential”.
In fresh planning documents submitted to Limerick City and County Council, the university said the location of the new campus was designed as a “key enabler” of the university’s strategic vision so that it could “harness the power of talent, imagination, and partnerships in Limerick City”.
The proposed change of use will facilitate the principle of "flexible learning", it added, by including reconfigurable, flexible and adaptable education spaces. It will retain the existing open-plan layout, with moveable furniture and equipment stored effectively in pocket wall cupboards.
These spaces will not be designated to any particular university faculty but will operate as “curated space”.
“They will be adaptable to changing programmes and future-proofed for new ways of learning.”
The document also notes: “This space is for everyone — it is not envisaged that any department will permanently move to or ‘own’ space in the City Centre Campus. There will be a constant footfall in the space, meaning that there could be some students/staff who will be permanently located there or located there in blocks.”
The university also plans for the space to have good digital as well as good physical connectivity with the Plassey campus through public transport and cycling.
UL purchased the Dunnes Stores site for €8.3m. It later became mired in controversy when it emerged that the site had been valued at just €3m in 2017, while no record exists of an independent valuation being commissioned prior to the purchase.
Last summer, UL chancellor Mary Harney told the Public Accounts Committee it was not “fair” to compare the previous valuation with the amount it was eventually purchased for.