A major plan for the future of Cork’s cycling infrastructure has been delayed for more than a year because “environmental issues” have arisen.

It was once a quiet rural village with a one-sided main street. But following the opening of retail giant Tesco’s latest Irish store in Ballincollig, Co Cork, yesterday, the town on the western outskirts of Cork City now boasts one of the widest retail choices of any town in Ireland.

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.

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.

In the second of a five-day series, Eoin English finds that the jobless figures in the Cork City area have surged to almost triple what they were in 2005.

THE regeneration of Cork’s sprawling docklands remains a government priority, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation insisted yesterday.