Monard oral hearing: Day two: Plans to increase housing density ‘commercially unviable’

Questions about housing density, traffic management, and potential environmental impact dominated the second day of an oral hearing on a new town plan for more than 5,000 houses, north of Cork City.

Revised plans to develop the townland of Monard and surrounding area near Blarney have been put forward by Cork County Council.

It is the second time in three years that the proposal has come before An Bord Pleanála, with the board previously refusing planning.

Yesterday’s hearing at the Metropole Hotel in Cork heard plans to increase housing density in the centre of the new town are “commercially unviable” and will prove unattractive to prospective tenants.

O’Flynn Construction made the comments, in a submission, although the company clarified it remained “fully committed to the development of land in Monard”.

The revised plan increases the minimum number of houses from 500 to 640, and the maximum from 700 to 780. The lack of housing density had been among the reasons for the rejection of planning in 2012.

A report submitted by O’Flynn Construction asked for more flexibility in density levels, describing the new levels as “retrograde”. The firm said it was “not appropriate” to propose further increases.

The firm also questioned the development of office and commercial units in the south-east end of Lower Monard which would act as a sound-barrier to the potential Northern Ring Road. It pointed to low occupancy levels of similar commercial estates nearby and instead proposed residential units for the area.

Meanwhile, further questions were asked about the time-scale of the delivery of the rail station.

On Tuesday, the hearing was told a proposed €4m rail station would promote sustainable transport in the area, although no time-frame for its development had been confirmed.

A representative on behalf of O’Flynn Construction described the train station as “vital” to the success of the project and called for it to be fast-tracked.

There are also concerns about transport gridlock in the area after the hearing was told no bus service would come on stream until 4,000 houses had been built.

The hearing was told, however, that the development of the Northern Ring Road was not essential for the development of the new town.

Engineer Andrew Archer, speaking for Systra Ireland, said that a development at Monard of 3,800 houses could be accommodated on an upgraded local road network.

Mr Archer did say, however, such a scenario would lead to traffic volumes at city junctions, such as Blackpool, surpassing capacity.

He added that developing a 5,000-unit town without the building of the Northern Ring Road would be unwise.

Meanwhile, the Monard Concerned Residents Group posed questions about the environmental and ecological impact of the development.

They noted no environmental impact assessment or archaeological survey have been conducted, while only a limited ecological survey has been undertaken.

Civil engineer Diarmuid Cahalane stated flood risks in Blackpool “will not be affected by the development of Monard”, in response to a question posed on Tuesday by the Blackpool Flood Action Group.