Planners urged to 'rectify' the wrongs of Bessborough by refusing permission

Final day of the oral hearing into proposed development on lands of the former mother and baby home in Cork

MVB Two is seeking permission to build apartments on lands of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in Blackrock, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

An Bord Pleanála has been urged to consider the common good and refuse planning for 179 apartments on former mother and baby home land in Cork which is marked on maps as a “childrens’ burial ground”.

David Dodd, the pro-bono barrister for the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance (CSSA), which is opposing plans to build apartments on the former Bessborough estate, made his comments despite reassurance from the developers, MWB Two, that they do not want to build on the graves or remains of the children who died in the institution.