A multi-agency taskforce is to be set up to ensure the health of protected freshwater mussels, otherwise their demise could have a serious impact on future economic development in the North Cork region.

A masterplan is being drawn up to build more than 4,000 homes, offices and commercial units in a Cork City satellite town.

A blueprint for future development in East Cork includes plans for more than 5,000 homes, four primary schools, two secondary schools, shopping centres, parks, cycleways, and a railway station.

Cork County Council hopes to secure advance funding from the Department of Environment to build new roads and bridges which will open up two adjoining sites in East Cork for major development.

Major housing and industrial developments along the Blackwater Valley in Co Cork are likely to be put on hold due to an EU directive aimed at protecting the freshwater pearl mussel.

Cork County Council has warned it will take legal action against a developer who has allegedly left a 600-house estate in North Cork with a substandard water supply where major leaks are commonplace.

The building of wind farms will be discouraged along the scenic coastline of Co Cork and in some rural parts of north and mid-Cork.

Despite guidelines in the Cork County Development Plan, council planners say around 50% of the county is still "open to consideration" as regards the erection of wind farms.

A new blueprint for the future of Cork county points to 58,000 new housing units being needed by 2022 to accommodate population growth.

A blueprint for the development of Co Cork up to 2021 identifies the need for 73,000 extra houses, a designated area for windfarms, and the need to earmark land for major new industry.

A multi-million euro plan has been drawn up which will relieve traffic gridlock in a Cork suburb in the years ahead.

Planners insist “now is the time” to rubberstamp blue-prints for a new town on the outskirts of Cork City, warning the project founder they may “miss the boat” if the project is left until the economy improves.

A local authority has defied the Government’s guidelines and refused to dezone a flood plain earmarked for development.

An upgrade of the Dunkettle/Jack Lynch Tunnel interchange is “vital for the growth of Cork”, a Bord Pleanála oral hearing was told yesterday.

Donal Hickey on developers’ failure to deliver services.

DRINKING water supplies for 1.25 million people have failed to meet safety standards — prompting calls for greater accountability of local authorities.

Developers should be forced to pay more towards the cost of local amenities, it was claimed today.

PLANS to develop a new commuter railway station on Cork’s northside have been approved.

In the second of a two-part series, planning issues and systems are examined By Caroline O'Doherty.

Developers need to make an effort to reach out to the public when embarking on major projects, planners warned today.

ONE of the senior planners in Ireland’s largest local authority believes it’s time legislation is introduced to make developers pay for schools adjacent to where they construct large numbers of houses.

THE new Strategic Infrastructure Bill threatens the democratic principles that are the foundation stone of our planning system. It is founded on the principle that the regulation of development is a matter that should normally be settled locally.