Plans for nearly 300 Cork homes 'on track' despite Bórd Pleanála concerns

The Land Development Agency said it still hopes to apply for planning by the end of the year for 274 homes on the site of the former St Kevin’s Hospital, guted in a suspected arson attack in 2017. 

Ambitious plans for almost 300 homes on a strategic state-owned landbank in Cork city are still on track despite An Bórd Pleanála saying the plan needs more work.

The Land Development Agency (LDA), the body set up to deliver new homes on state land, said it still hopes to apply for planning by the end of the year for 274 homes on the site of the former St Kevin’s Hospital on the western fringes of the city.

The LDA announced in June that it had submitted a pre-application consultation request to An Bórd Pleanála through the strategic housing development (SHD) process on the site of the derelict former hospital site in Shanakiel, on an elevated site overlooking the Lee Fields.

It will feature a range of property types, including 46 houses ranging from one-bed to four-bed, to offer a mix of suitable accommodation for larger and smaller families, couples and single people, as well as 228 apartments, including 60 in the derelict former St Kevin’s building, which would be renovated, restored and repurposed for housing.

The plan also includes a creche and the development of an office enterprise centre in the converted St Kevin’s Chapel.

But in an update on its website on the pre-consultation phase, An Bórd Pleanála said the LDA's housing plan requires “further consideration and/or amendment”.

A spokesman for the LDA said the pre-application consultation process with An Bord Pleanála in relation to the St Kevin’s housing plan has been completed.

He declined to comment on the issues which the planning appeals board say need further consideration but he said it would not affect the timeline of the project.

“Preparation is now underway to address matters of detail raised by An Bord Pleanála,” he said.

“The LDA is confident that the issues raised will be addressed and that the planning application submission will be made before the end of the year.” 

Industry sources said the Bórd's statement, and emergence of matters requiring further attention, would not be unusual given the scale of the housing project being advanced on this site through the SHD process.

The source also said that it should not be a cause of concern, and that whatever issues need to be addressed are most likely routine planning issues which can be addressed quickly and easily.

The listed red-brick St Kevin’s Hospital building on the grounds of the former Our Lady’s Mental Hospital fell into dereliction following the closure of the medical facility in 2002.

The iconic building was gutted in a suspected arson attack in July 2017, with two-thirds of the imposing five-storey structure’s roof destroyed, supporting internal pillars crumbled, and the top three floors collapsed.

The entire site was one of the most strategic sites targeted by the LDA for development following its establishment by the government to unlock state land for new homes.

The agency was engaged in detailed talks about the future of the site with the site owners, the HSE, and with city officials, for over a year before the housing plans emerged in June.

A spokesman for the LDA said the planned development will repurpose this well-known Cork landmark into a “new vibrant residential community with distinctive character”.