Cork Requires More Housing and Transport
Cork city’s docklands area is the nucleus of ambitious redevelopment plans, but challenges abound, writes Robert O’Brien
The tallest building in Ireland is set to be located in Cork, and it’s a sign of the times as ambitious development plans for the city and Munster region begin to bear fruit. Earlier this year, An Bord Pleanála greenlighted a €150m development on the site of the former Port of Cork building on Custom House Quay, which will include a 140-metre, 34-storey tower – more than twice the height of Liberty Hall in Dublin.
The Tower Holdings development will include a five-star hotel, food and beverage offerings, and a distillery. Acknowledging that the vertiginous new building will have a significant impact on the Cork city landscape, ABP argued that its visual appeal will be boosted by “the juxtaposition of the new and the old”.
In some ways, that is also the challenge facing Cork too, as developers, local authorities and businesses try to strike a balance between preserving the historic nature of the city while also facilitating economic progress in sustainable ways.
With so many interested parties and moving parts in Cork’s economic development, some friction is perhaps inevitable. Bord Pleanála’s thumbs-up for the Tower Holdings development can allow Cork City Council to rest a little easier, as they had already granted planning permission for the project. City Council CEO Ann Doherty described the go-ahead as an endorsement of the council’s vision of respecting the past while embracing the future.
Elsewhere, blindspots have emerged in the shared vision for Cork. The council is taking a High Court action against the government over plans for a €100m retail centre in the council’s county development plan. County councillors – with council executive backing – changed the plan in early 2020 to allow for a major retail outlet centre in the Cork metropolitan area.
The Minister for Local Government and Planning disagrees with the variation and has ordered the council to remove it, ostensibly because it made the county development plan for Cork incompatible with national guidelines on spatial planning.
The ongoing legal spat is indicative of the pressure building on officials and developers to fast-track the city’s development. There’s also mounting pressure to address long-standing challenges that have bedevilled economic progress in the region, particularly regarding transport and accommodation.
Glenveagh Properties can attest to the demand for more apartments in Cork city. It is planning to build a 1,000unit residential scheme in the south docklands, an area which is undergoing significant redevelopment and for which abundant new accommodation projects are required.
However, Glenveagh has yet to confirm a start date for the Marina
Quarter development near Páirc Ui Chaoimh, and the delay or cancellation of several other apartment developments is bringing renewed urgency to commence construction. In May 2021, JCD Group shelved plans to build a 25-storey residential tower with c.200 apartments, which would have been the first major apartment project in Cork city in more than 12 years.
Separately, a 302-unit apartment scheme by BAM/Clarendon on a Horgan’s Quay site has not yet started, while the 118-unit Railway Gardens project, a 400-unit project on Jacob’s Island and an 88-unit development on Lancaster Quay, have also yet to get underway.
Cork Chamber has called on the government to help deliver more apartments in the city, while Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill has suggested that a VAT reduction in a zoned area would be a ‘game-changer’ in helping to address the apartment construction shortfall in the city centre.
Cork’s docklands area is the focal point for much of the commercial and residential developments planned for the city, with over 146 hectares of land slated for development over the next 20 years. In order to expedite progress, Cork City Council and the Land Development Agency have partnered to create a new delivery office. The office hopes to lead the development of thousands of homes and the creation of a new urban centre for international investment.
The docklands delivery office will be funded by the LDA and the city council, and both parties sought substantial additional funding from the government under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF). In March 2021, Cork secured over €400m in the second round of the URDF, which will be spent on the City Docklands Project and the Grand Parade Quarter Project. Mallow, Carrigaline,
Passage West and Ringaskiddy will also receive URDF funding.
The URDF funding for Cork is the largest allocation for a single local authority in the country, and €350m of the total funding pot will be used for docklands redevelopment. They will include the development of Marina Park, provision of a public realm space on the quays and more green spaces. Flood protection is also in line for URDF funding, while road, walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure projects to be funded include the Eastern Gateway Bridge and Kent Station Bridge/Link Road.
Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy believes that substantial public
‘€350m of state funding is earmarked for docklands redevelopment’
realm investment is required for docklands infrastructure. Healy has also been vocal on the need for better public transport and road development projects in Cork city and the wider county. He welcomed the recent announcement of €184m in government funding to develop a new metropolitan rail network for the city.
The rail network plan includes a new commuter line running through Cobh, Midleton and Mallow. The government also plans to improve Kent Station, while new stations are due to be built in Tivoli, Blarney, Kilbarry and other locations. Healy stresses that the completion of several other transport projects in Cork are essential to sustain economic growth and ease congestion in the city centre. Among these projects are the Dunkettle Interchange, the M28 and the N22. Healy also wants to see the M20 Cork-Limerick motorway come to fruition, as well as the development of a Northern Ring Road.
The Northern Ring Road is a longmooted objective of both city and county councils, which is expected to begin its first stage of development shortly. The city council is leading the Northern Ring Road project, which will join the M8 Cork-Dublin motorway with the planned M20 Cork-Limerick motorway and the South Ring Road.
At a more micro level, Cork city’s transport challenges also received a boost earlier this year with a €30m funding allocation by the National Transport Authority to improve sustainable transport across the city. The NTA funding will be used to upgrade cycling, walking and public transport facilities.
Ann Doherty, chief executive of Cork City Council, notes that the National Planning Framework 2040 envisages that Cork will become the fastest growing city region in the country, with a projected 50% increase in population in the next two decades. “Such significant projected growth means that we need more sustainable transport options so that the increased numbers living, working and visiting our city, can move around easily and sustainably,” she stated.