5 days ago
Planning refused for more than 800 apartments on Cork's former Tedcastles and new Marquee site
Plans for one of Cork City's largest residential developments have been refused by An Bord Pleanála.
Tiznow Property Company Limited sought planning in 2022 to construct 823 apartments on Centre Park Road and the Marina.
Spanning almost five hectares, the site, which is the current location of Cork's Live At The Marquee and seasonal theme park, Funderland, is located just two kilometres from the city centre.
The proposed development included plans to demolish an existing building to make way for 823 apartments across six blocks with a maximum height of 35 storeys. The homes were to comprise 282 one-bedroom apartments, 414 two-bedroom apartments and 127 three-bedroom apartments.
It also included plans for a series of commercial units to be used as cafés, restaurants and pubs, as well as seven retail units, a library, a medical centre, a post office, a pharmacy, a dentist and two new childcare facilities.
The plans also include a provision of four new pedestrian bridges from the former Tedcastles Yard to the Marina, which would have included the removal of 13 existing car parking spaces on the Marina to facilitate pedestrian connection to existing infrastructure.
The proposed development also included a total of 278 car parking spaces and more than 1,700 bicycle parking spaces.
The large-scale residential scheme would have been part of one of Ireland's largest regeneration projects, located at Cork City's docklands, in which almost 150 hectares of land is to be redeveloped over the next 20 years. It is estimated that the scheme will accommodate a population of 25,000 and a workforce of almost 30,000 by 2040.
Development also included plans for a series of commercial units to be used as cafés, restaurants and pubs, as well as seven retail units, a library, a medical centre, a post office, a pharmacy, a dentist and two new childcare facilities.
However, An Bord Pleanála's decision means the ambitious plans will not be going ahead, with the board refusing permission for the development in accordance with the inspector's recommendation.
In its ruling, it said the site had a stated objective to provide for schools, educational facilities and related developments, and that the current plans for the site would "prejudice the future provision of educational facilities within the Cork Docklands area."
"The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," An Bord Pleanála said.
In addition, the board said the development, because of its design, scale, bulk and mass, would be "visually obtrusive when viewed from various viewpoints in the immediate vicinity as well as from views city wide and the surrounding hinterland of the city."
It added that the design of the apartment blocks would "seriously detract from the visual amenities and character of the area and would not constitute an adequate design response to the context and opportunity of this site."
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