Plans by the University of Limerick to build a bridge across the river Shannon are being opposed by the local fisheries authority.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board has appealed the decision of Limerick and Clare County Councils to grant planning permission to build a new bridge at Plassey linking Limerick and Clare. The board stressed it was not opposed to the principle of a bridge, but to its location and the effect it would have on the fishery and fish habitat.
The university was granted permission for a £30 million student village on the northern shores of the Shannon in Clonlara, Co Clare. The site is on 100 acres and the bridge is essential to the project. The fisheries board wants the bridge moved 150 metres upstream to preserve what it describes as a natural salmon spawning area and a prime fishery location. The chief executive officer of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, Mr Eamon Cusack, said declining wild salmon stocks were increasingly vulnerable to such developments.
The bridge would not be open to the public but would be used by staff and people doing business at the university. It was hoped to build a car park on the Clare side where staff and students could walk the short distance to the campus.