Student apartment plans for Cork and Limerick get green light
A photomontage with an artist's impression of the student apartments complex which has been approved for the site of Kelleher's Auto Centre on Wilton Rd, Cork. Picture: Pedersen Focus/ Bellmount Developments
Two large-scale apartment projects to cater for more than 550 students have been given the go-ahead for locations near third-level colleges in Cork and Limerick.
A new complex for almost 250 students will be developed on the site of Kelleher's Auto Centre in Victoria Cross, Cork, following the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission to Bellmount Developments.
The project will consist of 40 student apartments providing a total of 243-bed spaces across three blocks ranging from five to 10 storeys in height.
The facilities include two study rooms, a media area, a games area, a computer room and a laundry room as well as a courtyard space, a riverfront amenity, and two rooftop terraces.
Provisions are also made for a bus stop and set down area outside the building.
Bellmount estimated there could be a shortage of at least 1,400 student bed spaces in Cork city by 2024.
Separately, planning permission has been approved by An Bord Pleanála for a large new “student village” to house over 300 students in Limerick City, despite a similar development being rejected by the board two years ago.
The ruling gives Cloncaragh Developments a green light for the construction of 318 student bed spaces together with 30 build-to-rent apartments on the site of a former garage at Punches Cross in Limerick.
The project is designed to cater for students attending various third-level colleges in the city including the nearby Mary Immaculate College as well as the University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology.
The main building along the Ballinacurra Rd and Rosbrien Rd will range from four to six storeys in height and include communal facilities such as dining rooms and social activity rooms suitable for use as a gym, a games room, or a cinema.
The building will contain 54 student apartments containing between three- and six-bed spaces each.
A separate seven-storey courtyard building will contain 14 student apartments to house 70 students as well as the 30 build-to-rent apartments.
Subject to compliance with a number of planning conditions, An Bord Pleanála said the proposed development had an acceptable density and would not seriously injure the amenities of the local area or properties in its vicinity.
The board said the plans for the student village were also acceptable in terms of design, height as well as traffic and pedestrian safety.
Cloncaragh Developments said the project would “transform and generate” a site that had lain idle for the past 20 years.
The company said the development would “help to address the housing need for many students who wish to study in the city.”
A similar project for the construction for 326 bed spaces for students with 30 build-to-rent apartments planned by Cloncaragh was refused planning permission by the board in September 2019.
On that occasion, the board said it was precluded from approving the development as there was a lack of information about the impact of plans which would involve the excavation of 33,000m³ of earth and removal of fuel tanks and hazardous substances.
The board ruled it could not be satisfied that the development would not adversely affect protected areas along the River Shannon and River Fergus estuaries.
On the latest plans, An Bord Pleanála concluded that plans by the developer for the treatment of contaminated soil and water were “robust and satisfactory”.
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