Joy as school plan refusal overturned

STUDENTS whose hopes of a move to a new school building were shattered when councillors refused to rezone the site last summer were celebrating yesterday after the decision was overturned.

An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant permission for the school reverses the vote by members of Cork City Council last July not to change the zoning of 2.3 acres of the 11-acre Tank Field in Montenotte, where playing pitches are used by the local community and sports clubs.

The Department of Education applied in January last year for permission to build a 16-classroom school on that portion for Gaelscoil an Ghort Álainn, which has been accommodated in prefabs of a local GAA club since it opened 15 years ago.

The council had taken a number of measures to facilitate the move, including a vote by members in 2005 to sell the site to the Department of Education for an agreed price, subject to planning permission.

But more than 80 submissions were made in relation to the application and the two-thirds majority needed to remove the zoning of the site for sports use was not achieved.

After considering the appeal by the department, An Bord Pleanála’s inspector also recommended refusal but the board decided not to accept the recommendation.

It referred to the need for improved educational facilities and to replace temporary school accommodation in its reasons, and said that the school plan would not involve the loss of playing pitches.

Principal Reamonn Ó Riain was delighted with the news, which the school received yesterday morning as the 290 pupils and 14 teachers prepared to begin Easter holidays.

“Everyone’s jumping up and down with delight. We’ve been in the GAA club car park for the last 15 years and it’s totally unsuitable and overcrowded,” he said.

The hope is that the school can be built and open for classes by September 2009 as the decision clears the way for the sale of the site.

But the decision was greeted with disappointment by local residents who had objected to the plans, primarily on the grounds that important playing facilities would be lost. In its submission to An Bord Pleanála, the Montenotte Park Residents’ Association suggested alternative sites, such as land previously designated for an extension to Cork Prison, should have been considered.

“Notwithstanding what was stated by the board, there would be a clear loss of playing pitches and additional green areas in the event of the school being built,” a spokesperson said last night.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin has been critical in the past of people objecting to planning for schools in their own community, but did not comment yesterday.