Cork County Council’s dream of new town ‘still alive’

Cork County Council officials have disclosed they are still intent on developing a 5,000-house town at Monard near Blarney.

The plan suffered a setback in September 2013 after Bord Pleanála ruled it was premature in the current economic climate and, furthermore, the National Roads Authority had not decided on whether it would construct a new northern ring road which would connect to Monard.

Council planners had expended a massive number of hours designing a town after the previous government declared Monard a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) in 2010.

Officials were convinced the plan would meet future housing needs for the northern side of metropolitan Cork.

However, planners are now working on addressing issues raised by Bord Pleanála.

They included the uncertainty over a link to a new Northern Ring Rd, proposed to run from Glanmire, and intersect with the main Cork-Limerick road on the main Cork-Kerry route, close to Ballincollig.

The planning appeals’ board also expressed concern about Iarnród Éireann’s ability to build a railway station at Monard. It said that limited improvement of the local road network only “would give rise to serious traffic congestion in the surrounding area and would endanger public safety”.

The board ruled that the scheme, as proposed at the time, would not achieve the efficient use of land given the scale of public investment required, which the council had estimated in the region of €50m.

The board’s report noted “the approach lacks coherence, definition, detail, and would give rise to serious difficulties in relation to universal access” and said planning business offices, accessed via a residential estate, “would seriously injure the residential amenity of future occupants”.

The board’s inspector had recommended a maximum limit of 3,800 homes but the full board firmly ruled out the plan, primarily because of the absence of certainty regarding future major road access.

The council, however, is now preparing a report on the outstanding issues and sources say the local authority is still adamant the project is viable over the next 20-30 years. Monard has the ability to cater for an ultimate population of 12,500, the council believes.

While a number of councillors have said the issue of the steep topography of the site would be difficult to overcome, officials are to submit a new file under SDZ policy.

Councillors also said the board’s refusal created a worrying absence of zoned lands on the northern end of the city for future housing development, although some land was available for housing and retail development in the Ballyvolane area.

In recent weeks, the council launched master plans for further development in east Cork. It wants to build 5,500 houses, seven schools, and shops along the Cork-Midleton rail corridor between Carrigtwohill and Water Rock.

Another proposed feature is the development of a new commuter railway station at Water Rock.

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