Apple HQ in Cork secures additional parking for 1,300 new employees
Cork City Council has given the green light to Apple for an additional 285 car parking spaces at its European HQ to help facilitate an extra 1,300 new employees this year.
Apple Operations International Ltd (AOIL) had sought the additional capacity with 159 spaces in one car-park and 126 in another – on landbanks it owns to the north of the David McCarthy road on the northside of Cork City.
The council has attached 22 conditions to the planning.
DBFL Consulting Engineers submitted that the number of employees is expected to reach 5,350 across the entire Apple campus at Hollyhill by mid-2025. There is also a longer-term projection of 6,000 employees by 2030 'subject to market conditions', it said.
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The 285 approved spaces is in addition to 2,572 that are already either on-site or under construction at the campus.
In a planning report lodged with the application, consultants HW Planning said the proposal was appropriate in order to facilitate the continued successful operation of Apple operations in Cork 'in the absence of frequent public transport provision'.
Additional car parking was required, they said, despite initiatives being implemented on-campus to promote sustainable travel.
Outlining the background to the application DBFL also said the move would provide short to medium term resilience and mitigate anticipated delays to planned public transport and road network improvements.
'In the longer term, there may be scope to repurpose these spaces to higher-value uses that support the expansion of the Apple Campus – once the planned key upgrades to Cork's transport network are delivered.'
The report added that delays in the roll-out of Bus Connects had resulted in additional Apple Shuttle services being required.
It noted that six park and ride facilities are planned – including at Dunkettle and Blarney/Stoneview – connected by high-quality public transport services to key destinations.
'To date, none of these P+R proposals have been delivered despite the establishment of a dedicated park and ride office in the National Transport Authority'.
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