Fears for children's safety in Fermoy development

A public meeting against a proposed development in Carrignagroghera in Fermoy was well-attended at Crixus gym in the town on Friday evening last week, with about 60 people in attendance. Many, if not all, of those in attendance were residents of the existing Rathcarrig estate to the east of the site and discussed the development plans lodged in mid-December by Blueprint Property Development Ltd.

The planned development is for nine houses, comprising of three terraces of three houses each. The application states that a new road would be developed from these houses onto a new exit on the Pike Road, via the existing estate to the east.

At Friday’s meeting, much of the disquiet and objection focused around this new entrance, where an existing wall will be removed to allow both builders’ access and eventually, residents. However, in October 2022 Cork County Council said that in principle, this new entrance would be acceptable.

Residents made the point that their estate is a private one and wondered aloud, why the developer and the council would not consider creating an access point for the development south of the field, through what they said was a council-owned estate.

Fears were also expressed about the potential for this development of nine houses to expand into one with many more units and also the potential loss of long-standing green areas in the existing Rathcarrig estate. Another person said that children were used to playing in the area, safe in the assumption of no through-traffic,

‘What is now two cul de sacs, would essentially become a drive-through road’.

While the housing shortage in the town and nationally was acknowledged, some of those present asked the question, ‘Would they not be better off sorting Crann Árd first?’ - a nearby unfinished partial ‘ ghost estate’, in which it was recently announced that the council are to finish 28 houses.

TRAFFIC & SEWERAGE

Since Friday’s meeting, a number of submissions against the plans have been lodged with Cork County Council against the development. Among the objections are fears for the potential increase in traffic, thought to be an extra nine to 18 vehicles a day, and a detrimental effect on the residential area, ‘that has had a very safe playing area in that cul de sac of the estate for the last twenty years since 2004.

“The children that live in the estate are used to the layout, playing freely on the green areas and roadway of the cul de sac knowing there is no through route”.

Other concerns were that the house plans are aesthetically quite different to the existing homes and that the extra houses would ‘put additional pressure on an already overloaded pipe sewerage system that has a history of blockages. Residents also made the point that they had bought houses in the area on the understanding that it was a ‘finished estate’ and so future development was not considered when they made that purchase.

A decision is due on the planning application by February 20th and submissions are possible until 30th January.