Nama quizzed on client’s objection against proposed €50m Cork development

Nama has been asked to clarify its position on a planning objection lodged by one of its client firms against a €50m Cork City office block which has the potential to deliver 2,000 jobs.

Fine Gael TD Dara Murphy said he would be concerned if it emerged that Nama supports the objection lodged against the Albert Quay scheme by Monahan Road Development Ltd, whose €26m loan book has been transferred to Nama. “I would be hugely critical of Nama were they found to be objecting to this development on behalf of their clients,” he said.

Last month, Cork City Council granted planning permission to commercial property developer John Cleary to develop the nine storey office block on Albert Quay. The proposed 200,000sq ft building was due to be completed in late 2015.

It will have the capacity for 2,000 workers, with talks already under way with potential occupiers. It is understood that Tyco, which announced 500 jobs for Cork in January, will become one of its anchor tenants.

It is the kind of large floor-plate office space the IDA says Ireland, and Cork in particular, needs more of if it is to attract more foreign direct investment.

However, Monahan Road Development Ltd has appealed the planning decision to An Bord Pleanála. It said it has concerns “at the scale” of the project, and about “the negative effect” it will have on existing offices on the South Mall, on Monahan Road, and the city’s main business streets.

Mr Murphy has now written to Nama chairman Frank Daly and its CEO, Brendan McDonagh, seeking clarification on whether the agency supports what he said appears to be an objection based “purely on commercial grounds”.

“Nama would be behaving inappropriately here if it supported the objection by one of its clients,” he said.

“For me, this would amount to direct interference by Nama in the property market for the sole purpose of maximising market potential for its own assets.

“It would be in complete contravention of the rules under which Nama is supposed to operate in the public interest. It would amount to Nama putting commercial interests before the needs of the people of Cork who would stand to benefit from the development.”

An Taisce and Elysian Management Ltd, part of the O’Flynn Construction Group which owns Ireland’s tallest building, the Elysian, next to the Albert Quay site, have also appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Elysian Management Ltd said the planning application must be considered invalid as it incorrectly assumed the applicants had a right to enter onto the Elysian property at Port Lane.

An Taisce has appealed on the grounds of what it says is the excessive height, scale and massing of the scheme, and its adverse impact on surrounding buildings.

The planning appeals board is due to make a decision in July.