Approval for new car-park at Apple's Cork campus has 22 conditions
The council has attached 22 conditions to the planning permission to Apple Operations International Ltd (AOIL) for the additional spaces on land banks it owns to the north of David McCarthy Rd on the north side of the city.
The permission follows consultants for Apple, DBFL Consulting Engineers, telling the council that the number of employees is expected to reach 5,350 across the entire Hollyhill campus by mid-2025.
DBFL state there is a longer-term projection 'of 6,000 employees by 2030 subject to market conditions'.
The permission for the 285 spaces is in addition to the 2,572 parking spaces either on-site or under construction at the Hollyhill campus.
In a planning report lodged with the application, consultants HW Planning stated that the proposal is appropriate to facilitate the continued successful operation of Apple operations in Cork and to meet the growing needs of their operations across Ireland and Europe 'in the absence of frequent public transport provision'.
They state that the additional car spaces are required for the continued success of this strategic employment hub despite initiatives being implemented to promote sustainable travel options.
In the longer term, there may be scope to repurpose these spaces to higher-value uses that support the expansion of the Apple campus
Outlining the background to the application, DBFL state that 'the additional spaces are requested to provide short-medium term resilience and mitigate anticipated delays to the planned public transport and road network improvements ahead of the opening of the Hollyhill 5 building in mid-2025'.
'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 states.
Initially, the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) 2040 envisaged the construction of the Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Road (CNDR) by 2027 which would provide orbital active travel and public transport connectivity to the campus.
'However, the likelihood is that the delays to the roll-out of the CNDR, will necessitate short-medium term requirement of the proposed car-parking,' the report states.
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