€100m redevelopment of city’s iconic textiles site gets go-ahead
Cork City Council planners gave the go-ahead for a massive mixed use project by development firm Rothbury Estates on the site of the former Sunbeam complex in Blackpool.
The company applied to build a huge retail, office and commercial development, featuring several tall buildings ranging in height from one to seven storeys, over 41,000sq m.
A two-level basement car park is to provide spaces for 576 vehicles.
The proposed development includes the extension of the spine road from Blackpool Retail Park and the creation of a new road linking Commons Road and Redforge Road.
It was also proposed to realign the River Bride and build a new pedestrian bridge over the river.
Planning permission was granted last night based on drawings submitted by the developer in response to a further information request from the council last month.
Several conditions are attached, including the omission of the fourth floor from one of the buildings in the north east of the site. Its third floor must also be set back by 3m.
It was not clear last night whether these, or the conditions will effect the overall viability of the project.
A spokesperson for Rothbury said they have yet to receive notification and will not comment until they have studied all the conditions.
A massive fire swept through the Sunbeam business park on September 23, 2003.
The inferno — one of the biggest fires in Cork for 30 years — consumed the Reffond textiles plant and a number of adjoining business units.
The damage, estimated at over e5m, forced the company to shut down, letting 103 people go.
Reffond’s manager Martin Buckley said at the time: “It’s not just the end of our company but the end of an entire industry.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
