Minister gives Cork councils 5 years to agree extension to city boundary

The environment minister has given Cork City and county councils five years to agree an extension to the city boundary — or it will be decided for them.

Phil Hogan set out the position yesterday at the unveiling of his local government reforms — the most radical reform of the system in over a century.

He said the need to define a metropolitan Cork area is “clearly evident” given the very significant spillover of suburban development and population from around the city into the county council’s administrative areas.

“For practical purposes, these areas of development form part of the de facto city,” his Putting People First document said.

But what is more significant is the fact that the administration of what is a largely continuous urban area is divided between two separate local authorities, the report said.

Cork’s lord mayor, Cllr John Buttimer welcomed the minister’s proposal but said the new boundary should be in place in time for the 2014 local elections if it is to be “meaningful and effective”.

“As it stands, the boundary runs down the middle of some residential areas,” he said. “The people living in the suburbs next to the city consider themselves to live in the city. It makes sense for the system of local government to reflect this reality.”

He now plans to ask the Cork Area Strategic Planning Group, a joint working committee between the city and county council, to work with the city and county managers, on the review process.

Among the county areas that could be included in the Cork Metropolitan area are Douglas, Togher, Ballincollig, Glanmire, Carrigaline, parts of Ringaskiddy, the airport and its business park, and parts of Little Island.

A key issue will be devising a revenue compensation scheme for the county if it loses these vast rates revenues areas.

Cork Chamber president John Mullins described the decision not to merge the city and county councils as a missed opportunity.

And he said the boundary extension proposal does not go far enough.

“In fact it represents the imposition of another arbitrary border in what can be a unified economic region,” he said.

Work on a Cork City boundary extension began in 2006 but was shelved about two years ago.

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