Allegations of false submissions for rezoning at Corrin

The recent proposal to have the 13.9 hectare site within a greenbelt at Corrin rezoned for industry, has as previously been reported by The Avondhu, received 16 submissions, four in favour of the motion and 12 against. However, the landowner, Mr Colman O’Flynn believes a number of these submissions are not genuine.

The current landowners, Colman and Cathy Flynn, state that expansion of any of the businesses on site will not be possible without rezoning, and claim that local job creation, particularly at Veolia, will be hampered without the go-ahead for expansion.

As the final discussion on the County Development Plan by Cork County Council is scheduled for 25th April, landowners in Fermoy are pushing for the rezoning of land outside Corrin to allow industry to expand in the area.

The site, off of the M8 and close to the present site of four businesses including Flyco Engineering, Specto, Southcoast, and Veolia, is currently a designated greenbelt area. The current landowners, Colman and Cathy Flynn, state that expansion of any of the businesses on site will not be possible without rezoning, and claim that local job creation, particularly at Veolia, will be hampered without the go-ahead for expansion.

The recent proposal to have the 13.9 hectare site within the greenbelt rezoned for industry has, as previously been reported by The Avondhu, received 16 submissions, four in favour of the motion and 12 against. However, the landowner, Mr Colman O’Flynn believes a number of these submissions are not genuine.

Speaking with The Avondhu, Mr O’Flynn and his wife Cathy told how they have reported the matter to the Gardaí who are investigating, and who also advised Mr O’Flynn to contact the fraud unit of Cork County Council. Ten of the submissions, says Mr O’Flynn, lack detail and are written in a very simple style. He also alleges that none of the names attached to these submissions are known to him or his family locally, nor to any of the locals he spoke with on the matter.

Of the recent rezoning proposal, ten of submissions are believed by Mr O’Flynn to be disingenuous. The letters, seen by The Avondhu, have different dates written on them. However, all are stamped the ‘15th March 2022’, indicating they were all received by Cork County Council on the same day. Two of the letters are transcribed here, and in neither case is there any other information supplied pertaining to the objection.

The first example says, “Please do not zone this land as it will flood Castlelyons’.

Another says, “I do not want to see this land zoned because Castlelyons floods very badly.”

The Sh an owen na dri mina( Shan owen) Stream runs across the proposed site, travelling down to Castlelyons where it runs alongside the pitch and putt club before it meets the River Bride at The motion allows for the ‘protection of this watercourse and its associated riparian zone.’

The Gardaí have been contacted to confirm if they are investigating the matter. However, a response was not yet received at the time of going to print.

Cork County Council confirmed that to make a public submission one must provide a name, address, email address, and phone number. There is no associated charge, and the aim of the process with regards to public consultations is to ‘encourage as many submissions as possible from a wide range of groups and individuals'. The council also say that it would not be possible to check the validity of each submission received, but they will investigate if and when specific issues are raised.

Mr O’Flynn says that Bupa (now Laya) were poised to relocate the business to the site across from Corrin Forestry before they moved to Little Island in 2009, but the plan was blocked by local objection.. Another plan for expansion in 2020 was quashed when an application for a CVRT testing centre at the site, initially granted planning permission by Cork County Council, was later rejected by An Bord Pleanála after further local opposition.

The recent motion to rezone the land was raised by Cllr Frank O’Flynn at a meeting of Cork County Council in December last year, where it was supported by 42 of the elected members including the six councillors of the Fermoy Municipal District. Five councillors abstained, with one voting against the motion, Cllr Alan O’Connor of the Green Party.

The Office of the Planning Regulator and the TII also both made submissions against the potential rezoning, citing the road safety concerns. However, Mr O’Flynn makes a comparison between the site at Corrin, which lies off of the M8, and the recent €25 million expansion of Fyffes in Dublin, located off of the M1, stating that the developments could be viewed in similar light.

The amendment, along with other submissions to the council, will be discussed at a full meeting of Cork County Council on 25th April. The council confirmed that final proposed amendments will be voted on by the elected members and passed by majority. They also say there is ‘no role’ for An Bord Pleanála in any appeals mechanism once the plan is adopted.