Plans cleared for Cork City student apartment scheme

Although permission was previously given in March by Cork City Council, the decision in relation to the redevelopment of the former Square Deal furniture premises on Washington St West had been appealed. The withdrawal of the appeal by the owner of a neighbouring residential and medical facility means Summix WSC Developments Ltd is now approved to begin work subject to the council’s planning conditions. The scheme will provide bed spaces for around 200 students just a five-minute walk from University College Cork’s main campus.

Read the full article @ Irish Examiner

Port company appeals against €160m docklands scheme

The Port of Cork Company confirmed yesterday that it has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the decision made by Cork City Council last month to grant permission for the €160m HQ scheme at Horgan’s Quay. The appeal was lodged on Thursday just hours before the 5pm deadline. The mixed-use HQ project, proposed by BAM and Clarendon, has been earmarked for a six-acre north docks site, next to Kent train station and overlooking the port’s quays. It includes some 400,000 sq ft of office space, with capacity for up to 3,500 employees, more than 240 apartments and a 136-bed hotel across eight buildings. City planners gave it the green light late last month. But the port company, which is involved in a legal battle with BAM Civil Ltd over the tender process on part of a massive port building project in Ringaskiddy, confirmed it is appealing the decision.

Read the full article @ The Irish Examiner

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Councillors set for U-turn on controversial rezoning

CORK’S city councillors are poised to do a controversial U-turn on a policy of not rezoning sports land for development.

A motion calling for the rezoning of former sports pitches on the grounds of Farranferris College in Cork was submitted to the city council yesterday.

The rezoning is crucial to secure the €50 million redevelopment of the former seminary as an educational campus to tackle social deprivation in the northside, councillors said. But it comes just months after they voted against rezoning a portion of the Tank Field, also zoned for sports, which would have facilitated the construction of a new school for Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Álainn in Montenotte.

Eleven councillors have signed a motion calling for the adoption of a local area plan to facilitate the regeneration of the college.

If cleared, the former sports grounds will be rezoned for 108 housing units, which help fund the regeneration. The local area plan describes the sports ground as not suitable — or big enough — for competitive use.

The blueprint for the refurbishment of Farranferris College was drawn up, at the request of the diocese, by property developer and past pupil Michael O’Flynn. His plan calls for the development of an educational campus on the 22-acre site.

It is envisaged that 700 people will be accommodated on the campus.

The 40,688 sq ft college will be retained and refurbished, while six new buildings will be constructed next to it

The main building will be used by Cork city VEC, FÁS and Northside Community Enterprises, which will provide adult education and training courses. The others will accommodate Cope Foundation, Rehab Care and Cabas.

Mr O’Flynn will not be involved in building homes on the site. It is envisaged that the campus will also have a crèche, a three-acre regional park and decked car parking.

Irish Examiner

www.buckplanning.ie

Councillors set for U-turn on controversial rezoning

CORK’S city councillors are poised to do a controversial U-turn on a policy of not rezoning sports land for development.

A motion calling for the rezoning of former sports pitches on the grounds of Farranferris College in Cork was submitted to the city council yesterday.

The rezoning is crucial to secure the €50 million redevelopment of the former seminary as an educational campus to tackle social deprivation in the northside, councillors said. But it comes just months after they voted against rezoning a portion of the Tank Field, also zoned for sports, which would have facilitated the construction of a new school for Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Álainn in Montenotte.

Eleven councillors have signed a motion calling for the adoption of a local area plan to facilitate the regeneration of the college.

If cleared, the former sports grounds will be rezoned for 108 housing units, which help fund the regeneration. The local area plan describes the sports ground as not suitable — or big enough — for competitive use.

The blueprint for the refurbishment of Farranferris College was drawn up, at the request of the diocese, by property developer and past pupil Michael O’Flynn. His plan calls for the development of an educational campus on the 22-acre site.

It is envisaged that 700 people will be accommodated on the campus.

The 40,688 sq ft college will be retained and refurbished, while six new buildings will be constructed next to it

The main building will be used by Cork city VEC, FÁS and Northside Community Enterprises, which will provide adult education and training courses. The others will accommodate Cope Foundation, Rehab Care and Cabas.

Mr O’Flynn will not be involved in building homes on the site. It is envisaged that the campus will also have a crèche, a three-acre regional park and decked car parking.

Irish Examiner

www.buckplanning.ie

Plan to rezone sports lands for homes and education campus

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to rezone sports land for houses on the site of one of country’s most famous hurling schools in a €50 million redevelopment plan was submitted yesterday.

The move, to secure the redevelopment of St Finbarr’s-Farranferris College in the northside of Cork city, was backed by over a third of the city’s councillors — most from the northside.

This is despite the council repeatedly warning developers to keep their hands off city lands zoned for sport.

The rezoning of the college’s former training grounds is crucial to secure the development of an education campus on the rest of the site, the developer behind the project said.

A motion signed by 11 councillors was submitted to City Hall yesterday, calling for the adoption of a local area plan for the former Farranferris seminary site, owned by the diocese of Cork and Ross.

It was closed last year and developer and former past pupil Michael O’Flynn prepared a blueprint for its future last April. It called for:

* A total refurbishment of the main building.

* Construction of six new high-tech office buildings.

* The development of 108 private residential units on the site’s former training pitches.

The buildings will house services by Cork VEC, FÁS, Cope Foundation, Rehab, Cabas (special needs services) and Northside Community Enterprises, UCC and CIT. The entire project is aimed at tackling social disadvantage.

Proceeds of the sale of houses on 4.6 hectares (11.25 acres) would help fund the rest of the project.

A draft local area plan, which has been obtained by the Irish Examiner, describes the housing element as crucial to realise the education and training campus — a stated aim in the city development plan.

“This plan contends that there is therefore a conflict between this policy and another policy which seeks to prevent development occurring on sports pitches.

“A key aim of this area plan, therefore, is to resolve this conflict and prioritise the educational aims of the city plan over the sporting aims,” the plan says.

Mr O’Flynn said he could not see how councillors could be accused of doing a U-turn on their stated policy of preventing development on land zoned for sport: “This is an integrated plan which contains an education campus, and the refurbishment of old buildings.

“This is a unique opportunity for an area that needs investment.

“Councillors have a responsibility to examine all projects on their merits.

“I have consulted widely on this. I feel I have broad local and council support.”

Cllr Damian Wallace (FF), who was among those to sign the motion, said the Farranferris blueprint meets the aim of providing a third-level college on the city’s northside.

“These sports grounds are not active,” he said. “This is an opportunity to provide something of substance for the northside. On balance, it’s far better to rezone these lands than to do nothing.”

The blueprint also contains proposals to provide a three-acre regional park.

Irish Examiner

www.buckplanning.ie

Councillors vote down rezoning site for school

CORK’S city councillors were under fire last nightafter they voted
againstrezoning a site for a new gaelscoil.
The vote effectively means that the 300 students of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Álainn
in Montenotte — the city’s first multi-denominational gaelscoil — will continue
to be taught in what have been described as “ramshackle” conditions.
The Department of Education, which has been working on the project for
almost five years, which cleared funding and sought planning permission for
the new school this year, will now have to go back to the drawing board.
Last night’s vote to rezone a 2.3 portion of the 11-acre Tank Field was
watched by more than 100 people who packed into City Hall’s public gallery.
Councillors were asked to rezone the 2.3-acre portion from sports ground
zoning that would give the Department of Education planning permission for
the new school.ഊThe meeting heard that the controversial rezoning was one of the most
emotive to come before council in recent years and that it has split the
community.
The meeting was also told that the crucial vote was the last stage of a process
which councillors embarked upon over two years ago.
City manager Joe Gavin outlined how the council had in March 2005 agreed
to sell a specified area of land at the Tank Field to the gaelscoil for the
development of a new school.
In February 2006, councillors agreed to a process to realign Brian Dillons’
GAA pitches on the Tank Field to ensure that no sporting amenities were lost,
he said.
The department then lodged a planning application for the 2.3-acre site for an
ultra-modern two-storey 16-classroom school.
However, a material contravention of the city development plan would be
needed.
During the course of a lengthy debate, Cllr Damien Wallace (FF) said he felt
councillors had a “moral obligation” to proceed with the process.
“We are on the third rung of the process,” he said.
Cllr John Kelleher (Lab) said: “We can’t say no to 300 children waiting
expectantly for a new school.”
Responding to questions, however, Mr Gavin said he had indicated to the
department that other sites could be available if the rezoning of the Tank Field
site failed.
Despite advice from senior planners, and despite agreeing to the previous
steps, 13 councillors voted against the rezoning.
They are Fianna Fáil’s Terry Shannon, Tim Brosnan, Tom O’Driscoll, Mary
Shields and Tony Fitzgerald, Fine Gael’s Patricia Gosch, Brian Bermingham,
Denis Cregan and Jim Corr, Labour’s Mick O’Connell and Denis O’Flynn,
Independent Dave McCarthy and Green Chris O’Leary.
Mr O’Leary and Mr Corr said they could not support the rezoning of a sports
ground.
Reamonn Ó Riann, secretary of the school’s board of management, said
parents were devastated with the outcome.
“The vote means the children will have to continue being taught in prefabs,”
he said.ഊ“It’s so hard to get money out of the department. When we got on the building
list, we thought all the hard work was done. Parents are just so devastated,”
he added.

Eoin English
© Irish Examiner

Bishopstown 3-bed? How about €5m

RESIDENTS of a wealthy Cork suburb pleaded with city officials last night to save a cherished green space that has been put up for sale.

What’s being described as “probably the smallest house in Bishopstown with the biggest garden” was put up for sale by tender over the weekend.

However, the “garden” of number 1, Park Gate Villas on the Bishopstown Road, has been effectively used as a public park for almost four decades by the people of Bishopscourt. They have also paid for its maintenance.

But SWS Property Services confirmed yesterday that the green is included in the sale of the house, which stands at the corner of the prime 1.6 acre site. The green does not have any zoning designation.

SWS negotiator Martin Kelleher said there are certain rights of way over the area.

And while the new owners could apply for planning permission to develop the land, Mr Kelleher said his company was not pushing the sale as a development opportunity.

“The new owner will own the green, but that does not give them an entitlement to develop,” he said.

He declined to discuss the price tag because the sale is by tender but property sources suggested the site could, subject to zoning, be worth close to €5 million.

The 1,700-sq-ft three- bedroom, two-storey detached house is in good structural condition but is in need of refurbishment.

An advertising hoarding on its eastern gable could provide its new owner with several thousand euro in annual income. All tenders are due by August 3.

However, Bishopstown Community Association expressed serious concerns last night that the green could be lost as a public amenity.

“This green area is an integral part of the estate. It should be zoned as open green space,” a spokesperson said.

Fine Gael city councillor Jerry Buttimer has flagged the issue with the city manager and the council’s law and planning departments.

“Every effort must be made to retain this space, which has been a feature of the estate since it was built,” he said.

Irish Examiner