Cork council puts brakes on unauthorised car park after bizarre planning situation

An unauthorised car park in Cork’s tech jobs hub will shut down within days after a bizarre planning situation which saw a local authority initiate an enforcement action against itself.

Cork City Council confirmed yesterday it has formally terminated a licence arrangement with the occupiers of the city council-owned site in Mahon.

While the notice gave the occupiers several weeks to vacate, it is understood arrangements were already in train to vacate before the notice was issued.

It is expected the car park, used by hundreds of City Gate-based EMC workers, will be decommissioned over the next 48 hours. It is understood that a deal has been struck with a local sports club for parking on their grounds.

The latest twist in the saga comes almost a year after the Irish Examiner first highlighted complaints about the unauthorised car park on St Michael’s Drive.

Developer John Cleary’s company, Progressive Construction Ltd, was licensed by the city council to use the site as a storage compound during the construction of the City Gate campuses.

However, when construction finished, a car park was developed on the site which is zoned for business and technology use.

It is understood senior city officials examined the issue almost two years ago. A legal opinion was sought and options were outlined, but no action taken.

However, following complaints late last year, it was signalled to Mr Cleary the matter had to be addressed.

His firm sought full planning permission to retain the area for car parking, and sought a three-year temporary permission for a surface car park, with capacity for up to 350 vehicles.

But planners ruled the application as invalid - arguing that the developer could not apply for retention in this case without preparing an environmental impact assessment.

Against the backdrop of legal action triggered against the council by developer Tom McCarthy, who owns key sites on nearby Jacob’s Island, the council subsequently initiated enforcement action against itself as the owners of the unauthorised car park.

Local Fine Gael Cllr Laura McGonigle welcomed the shutting down of the car park but said the saga was far from over.

“For almost two years, the council facilitated the unauthorised parking of up to 400 cars daily in Mahon. City Council, as both the planning authority and the land owners of the site, refused to fulfill its statutory obligation in dealing with this matter sooner. The car park breached the terms of the lease granted and was contrary to both planning policy and zoning in the area,” she said.

She also expressed concerns about where the parking will now be located. “The residents of Mahon deserve better treatment than this,” she said.

A spokesperson for City Hall defended its handling of the issue in an area where 2,500 jobs were created during the recession.

“Technically, it was unauthorised but we felt that for the overall good of the city it was necessary to allow the companies involved time to regularise the situation,” he said.

Mahon is a traffic blackspot. Office development has been capped while the traffic issues are addressed. And proposals to allow residential development in the area have been deferred.