Ambitious development plan unveiled for Cork City
The draft Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 was launched on Monday in Fitzgerald Park, Cork, and is going out to public consultation for eight weeks. At the launch were young rappers and hip hop enthusiasts from the Kabin Studio in Hollyhill, Cork City and the Migrant Centre at Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street, Sophie Mc Carthy, Cara Cullen, Darren Stewart aka MC Tiny, Rayaa Onog, Jamie Forde aka MC The King, Fionnuala O'Connell, Amaka and Ugonna Duru. Picture: Alison Miles/OSM Photo
An ambitious development plan to make Cork a counterbalance to Dublin will see a €1.8bn central Government investment in the city.
Some 20,000 new homes are to be built in Cork City and its suburbs, along with 31,000 new jobs over the coming years.
Up to €3.5bn is also earmarked for the city over 20 years as part of the Cork Metropolitan area transport Strategy.
Creating a modern transport infrastructure in Cork City and suburbs is central to the development plan, Cork City Council chief executive Ann Doherty said.
Another key aim of the plan is to create a 15-minute city, where residents can access services easily within 15 minutes of their homes.
Submissions are being sought from the public to influence the new development plan, called 'Our City, Our Future'.
Eight weeks of public consultations on the process begins today.
Cork City Council is calling for the people, businesses, sporting and voluntary groups of Cork to have their say on the 2022-2028 plan by October 4.
"We're encouraging people to get involved," Ann Doherty said.
Lord Mayor Colm Kelleher added: "This is going to alter everything. It's the city's plan, but it's also their [the peoples'] plan. This is going to affect every citizen. We're encouraging every citizen to get involved.
More than 100 cities were studied internationally, with lessons learned in particular from thriving cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bilbao.
But harnessing Cork's unique character, assets and potential is key to this new development plan, Ms Doherty said.
The plan sets out key objectives and planning policies that will shape the city's development to 2028 and beyond.
This is the first of three City Development Plans that will provide a pathway to achieving a 50% increase in population by 2040 so that Cork grows as a city of international scale.
The plan is centred around supporting housing, economic development, public realm renewal, transport, amenity spaces and community services in existing built-up areas using the internationally-acclaimed 15-minute city model.
