Planning application lodged just hours after former hotel in Cork is gutted by fire

A company called Oshawott Limited has signalled its intent to apply for planning permission for a a two-storey commercial building and 43 residential units

Such was the scale of the fire at the Sunset Ridge hotel, firefighters advised residents living nearby to stay indoors and close their windows.

A derelict former bar and hotel, which was gutted in a suspected arson attack on the northern outskirts of Cork city on bonfire night, has been earmarked for demolition and redevelopment as a mixed-use retail and residential development.

A planning application has been lodged with Cork City Council for the redevelopment of the former Sunset Ridge Hotel site in Killeen, near Blarney. The notice was published on Friday just hours after fire gutted the building.

Several units of Cork City Fire Brigade spent several hours on Thursday evening battling the blaze. Such was the scale of the fire, firefighters advised residents living nearby to stay indoors and close their windows.

They managed to bring the fire under control but not before it caused substantial damage to the derelict and boarded-up structure. The fire broke out almost a year to the day since another suspicious fire caused substantial damage to the property, which ceased operating as a bar and hotel several years ago.

Conditional planning was granted by Cork County Council in 2011 to the hotel’s former owners for the demolition of the hotel building and other structures and for the construction of a mixed-use development, with a number of retail and office units, a pub and a restaurant, with 143 car parking spaces.

But the project never happened and the planning permission expired in 2016 and the building fell into dereliction.

Several units of Cork City Fire Brigade spent several hours on Thursday evening battling the blaze. Photo via Cork City Fire Brigade

The site ownership has changed several times over the years, and following the extension of the city boundary in 2019, the site was inspected by city officials and then formally declared derelict, and placed on the derelict sites register last October.

Now, a company called Oshawott Limited has signalled its intent to apply for planning permission for the demolition of the hotel and all associated structures, and for the construction of a two-storey commercial building, with a ground floor pharmacy, medical consulting rooms, and 43 residential units to include four one-bed duplex apartments, 17 two-bed terraced dwellings, two two-bed semi-detached dwellings, 10 three-bed end of terrace dwellings and 10 three-bed mid-terrace dwellings, in a range of heights from two to two-and-a-half storeys, along with 67 car parking spaces.

The Sunset Ridge Hotel was gutted in a suspected arson attack on the northern outskirts of Cork city on bonfire night

The application also includes new traffic calming measures, a new footpath and cycle lane to the L2785, two pedestrian crossings, including one which was approved in a previous planning application, and junction improvements.

On foot of questions from local independent Cllr Ken O’Flynn, City Hall has confirmed that following the placement of the site on the derelict sites register, a levy invoice was issued at the end of March and sent to the owner’s representative.

However, it is understood that City Hall has had no correspondence with the solicitors representing the owners since December 2021, at which point the council was told that the site was being sold subject to planning approval.