Cork population to hit 850k by 2050

A blueprint given to the Government for future growth in Cork has forecasted the population of the city and county will increase from 542,000 to 846,000 by 2050 and has warned significant infrastructure investment will be needed to support this.

The population growth and measures needed to accommodate it are contained in joint proposals from Cork County Council and Cork City Council in a submission to the government’s National Planning Framework.

The submission proposes that the region would take on additional growth in population, housing, and jobs in order to alleviate pressure on Dublin which, the report’s authors say, the capital is no longer capable of sustaining.

In a report to councillors, consultants outlined transportation improvements which would be required in the region in the next 33 years.

They have proposed that a rapid transport corridor should be created between Ballincollig and the Docklands and Mahon via the city centre.

They say plans should include a high-capacity bus network serving all the main corridors in the Cork metropolitan region, which would interconnect with Cork Airport and all intercity train and rural bus services.

Consultants say high capacity public transport is essential in the city and its suburbs to allow for population growth as 60% of the rise will occur in the metropolitan area.

They expect the population in the metropolitan area to reach 500,000 by 2050 and maintain that the delivery of high-quality public transport will lead to a reduction of 500,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Ideally, they want the 87% of people living in the city and suburbs to be within 1km of high-quality public transport corridors.

They say the population density in these areas should rise to between 3,500-4,500 people per sq km within the 1km zone within the next 33 years.

To provide for the projected population growth, an additional 120,000 jobs will have to be created by 2050.

The report said Cork currently supplies 24% of the national grid with electricity through windfarms and that significant natural resources such as natural gas, oil, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectricity could create many more jobs, as could off-shore windfarms.

While the consultants see a lot of jobs being created in the metropolitan area, they have also earmarked Mallow and Clonakilty as being potential hubs for further employment opportunities.

The importance of good road infrastructure was also highlighted in the document, with the consultants pointing out the economic need for the mothballed M20 (Cork-Limerick motorway), the upgrading of the Cork-Ringaskiddy road and the upgrading of the Cork-Waterford road.

There was a general welcome for the blueprint from Cork county councillors, but some expressed concern that it contained information mainly in relation to growth in the city and suburbs.

Fianna Fáil councillor for Kanturk-Mallow Bernard Moynihan claimed council planners were not helping rural regeneration by turning down planning applications in rural areas.