Protected freshwater mussel delays council plans for 900 houses in Cork 

Development in two of the county's largest towns is being hampered by an over-capacity sewage treatment plant and a protected species

A housing scheme in Fermoy is being held up because of the EU's protective status on the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, which lives in the nearby River Blackwater. Picture: Dr William O’Connor

Cork County Council will increase its construction of new homes this year, but is being hampered with plans to build houses in two towns.

While more than 900 plans are on course to be completed this year, an over-capacity sewage treatment plant and the protected freshwater pearl mussel are hampering plans in two of the county's biggest towns.

Maurice Manning, the council's director of housing, said it was hoped 936 new homes would be completed this year, up from 718 in 2020.

He said he couldn't guarantee every single one of the homes would be completed as there had been some delays in construction due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, he said there was an expectation when construction reopens it will enable the council to play catch-up.

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre O'Brien told a meeting of the council's northern division she was bitterly disappointed that no housing was being built in Mitchelstown because its sewage treatment plant was over-capacity and nothing seems to have been done to address this.

Ms O'Brien said it shouldn't be overcapacity and wanted to know what happened to an Irish Water investigation which was supposed to be carried out three years ago aimed at finding out why the treatment plant was handling more waste than it was supposed to.

She said many young couples had been forced to move out of the town to build in adjoining villages and she knew of one developer who wanted to construct 30 houses, but was being held up because of the issue with the treatment plant.

James Fogarty, the council's assistant chief executive, told her the result of the Irish Water investigation was a matter for the utility to comment on and said she should request the council's county engineer contact the company for a comment.

Freshwater pearl mussel

Meanwhile, Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy said he was very concerned that a badly-needed housing project in his hometown of Fermoy was being held up because of the EU's protective status on the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, which lives in the nearby River Blackwater.

The council was planning to build 43 new homes at Uplands – a mixture of family homes and special age-friendly apartments.

“The council was ready to go, but this has been held up by the pearl mussel," he said.

Labour councillor James Kennedy asked if there was a set distance from the River Blackwater where construction was not allowed because of the mussel.

Mr Fogarty said it was not as simple as that. He said it would depend on the “hydrological connection” to the river that a proposed construction site would have, such as if there would be run-off into a stream or groundwater source which could ultimately feed into the River Blackwater.

Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Hayes said it might be appropriate to seek EU aid for upgrading sewerage treatment plants.

Mr Fogarty said balancing protection for the mussel and allowing further development “is a serious issue which needs serious attention”.