€150m project gets go-ahead at Beamish site

AN BORD Pleanála has given the green light for a €150 million development, including a 6,000-seat event centre, on the site of Ireland’s oldest brewery in Cork city.

The planning appeals board backed Cork City Council’s decision to grant permission for the Heineken Ireland/BAM Property joint project at the Beamish and Crawford site. It has imposed 24 conditions.

The National Conservation and Heritage Group, which opposed the development, has said it will appeal the decision to the European Parliament.

As well as the 11,339sq m event centre, the developers applied to build an eight-screen cinema, two pedestrian bridges, a viewing tower, 46 student apartments with 206 bed spaces, a visitor centre, 10 artists’ studios and various restaurants, shops, bars and galleries.

The whole development was to be spread over seven buildings ranging in height from four to seven storeys.

A decision on whether to grant planning permission had not been expected before February 8 but details of the approval have been published on the board’s website.

The conditions it places upon the developers include the removal of floors from several of the proposed buildings to “preserve views and in the interest of protecting the amenity of adjoining property”.

It also orders the developers to facilitate Cork City Council in “archaeological appraisal of the site, and in preserving, recording or otherwise protecting archaeological materials or features which may exist within it”.

It said this was to conserve the site’s archaeological heritage and to secure the preservation of any remains which may exist there.

It also ordered that the medieval laneways around the site should be commemorated by the insertion of name plaques, which should be submitted for the approval of Cork City Council.

Most of the rest of the conditions were standard requirements in most planning applications.

Damien Cassidy of the National Conservation and Heritage Group said his organisation “half expected” the decision because of the pressure at present to create jobs.

“However, this could have been built in four or five other places,” he said.

“Owen O’Callaghan has an application in for the same thing in a different location,” he said.

Mr O’Callaghan wants to build a €50m development in Albert Quay which would include an event and conference centre with capacity for 5,000 people seated, or 7,500 people standing.

Mr Cassidy welcomed the news that part of the Counting House at the Beamish and Crawford site would be saved, with the developers ordered to submit plans for a museum.

However, he said his organisation would appeal the decision to the European Parliament on the basis that it is a heritage site.