€360m upgrade to accommodate new home explosion
The blueprint, which has been adopted by the council’s special purposes committee, is a eight-year plan which focuses on upgrading services in the Southern Division — an area which encompasses towns like Youghal, Midleton, Cobh, Glanmire, Blarney, Ballincollig, Kinsale, Bandon and Macroom.
Among the largest projects are new water and sewerage schemes for Carrigtwohill, costing an estimated €35 million, an upgrade of Ballincollig’s sewerage system at €23m and a €22m waste water treatment plant serving the Blarney, Monard and Rathpeacon areas.
Council officials said the plans will go on public display from tomorrow at a number of council offices and at County Hall. They will remain on display for a month.
It is planned to do the projects in two phases over the next eight years.
The blueprint, which took several months to draw up, was developed as a response to major rezoning adopted in last year’s County Development Plan.
Huge tracts of land were rezoned for housing and the council says it is vital that services are put in to allow for planned development of thousands of new homes between now and 2014.
Cllr Tim Lombard, who is chairman of the Southern Division’s special purposes committee, said it is hoped the schemes will be undertaken in two phases. The first phase planned from 2007 to 2009 will cost an estimated €240m and the other scheme, from 2009 to 2014, a further €120m.
The first priority is to lay a water main from Inniscarra to Monard, which has been earmarked as a new satellite town capable of coping with at least 5,000 new homes.
The Midleton development is second on the list, as the town is expected to cater for several thousand new homes within the next few years.
Council officials say Midleton and Carrigtwohill’s projected housing boom will come with the reopening of the Cork-Midleton railway line in 2008.
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