Projects aim to boost tourism appeal of Cork Harbour fort 

Fort Camden, Crosshaven, and Roches Point, Cork Harbour. Picture: Denis Scannell

A total of 80 projects could be undertaken to upgrade a coastal fort in Cork Harbour as a major tourist attraction, but Cork County Council, which owns it, can't afford the €30m needed to carry out the works.

Instead, a council-run company has been set up to operate and promote Camden Fort Meagher in Crosshaven and is looking at prioritising seven projects, which have a price tag of approximately €4m.

Details of the exact nature of the seven projects have not been fully revealed to local councillors, but they have agreed to grant the company permission to expand the lease of the amount of land it owns around the fort to ensure its future development.

John Forde, one of the two directors of the company which oversees the property, said there is a need to expand the area of control it has on the outside of the coastal fort in order to increase parking spaces for visitors and create a second entrance into it.

Currently, the council's lease from the Department of Defence only covers the fort itself and land inside the moat.

“We need to increase parking spaces. We want another access and a walkway around the fort,” Mr Forde said.

They're also looking at getting funding to employ a full-time project manager to organise events and generate money for the fort, with the eventual hope it will open seven days a week.

Mr Forde said attracting more visitors to the fort would have the knock-on effect of generating increased income for the local Crosshaven economy as a whole.

Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley said she could understand why extra parking space was needed because the situation at present was “chaotic” for visitors.

Both she and Fine Gael councillor Michael Paul Murtagh said a footpath needs to be built from Crosshaven village up to the fort and traffic calming measures were also needed along the road.

Ms Buckley also expressed concerns that expanding the lease area could have a negative impact on the creation of amenity facilities for locals.

Mr Forde said he had no issue with such projects if they didn't impinge on plans for the fort going forward.

“It is vitally important for us to secure more of the land for the future of the fort. We want to make sure we don't hamper ourselves into the future. We need to do this for when we make applications for funding,” Mr Forde said.

Mr Murtagh said he totally understood why the fort needs a second public entrance as well as the need for more parking spaces and he proposed his colleagues agreed to Mr Forde's request, which they did.

Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath asked Mr Forde to provide councillors with a twice-yearly update on what is being proposed there, which he agreed to.