Board approves compulsory purchase of docklands sites for public park

CORK City Council was cleared yesterday to proceed with the compulsory purchase of a massive swathe of prime land — including the key Showgrounds site — in the city’s docklands.

An Bord Pleanála signed off on the council’s ambitious compulsory purchase order (CPO) of five separate sites around Páirc Uí Chaoimh, totalling 10 hectares, the largest of which is the 8.7 hectare Munster Agricultural Society’s (MAS) council-owned Showgrounds land.

The board reached its decision after considering a major report from inspector Michael Ward who chaired a four-day oral hearing last November.