An Bord Pleanála to hold oral hearing over CPO for new Ballincollig schools 

Objection lodged against compulsory purchase order of 15 acres to develop education campus to provide permanent homes for Gaelscoil an Caisleáin and the Le Chéile secondary school in the town

First year students on the opening day of Le Chéile Secondary School in Ballincollig, in the town's former Cork Film Centre, in September 2021. Picture Dan Linehan

An Bord Pleanála is to hold an oral hearing into the proposed compulsory acquisition of land on the outskirts of Cork City for an education campus.

It follows the lodging of an objection to the compulsory purchase order (CPO) of some 15 acres at Lisheens, just west of Ballincollig, which was published by Cork City Council last year.

A planning inspector will hear submissions first from Cork City Council, setting out the justification for the proposed CPO, which is designed to provide a permanent site for two schools in Ballincollig — a primary school and a second-level school — which are each currently housed in separate temporary accommodation.

The inspector will hear details of the alternatives that were considered, the background of discussions and consultations with the landowner, and the local authority’s response to the objector’s written submission.

Neither the identity of the objector, nor their grounds for objection, have been disclosed yet in the publicly available documents.

But they will have an opportunity at the hearing to elaborate on their written submission. 

There will also be an opportunity for both sides to question each other during the hearing, which is expected to last about half a day.

The hearing will be held online before the end of the month. A decision on the CPO is now expected before the end of February.

The local authority published the CPO documents last August, outlining the extent of the proposed land acquisition.

It was described at the time as “a massive milestone” in the long process to secure an education campus that would deliver permanent homes for both Gaelscoil an Caisleáin and the Le Chéile secondary school in Ballincollig — a part of the city earmarked for significant population growth up to 2040.

Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin opened in 2017 and has been housed in temporary modular accommodation on the grounds of the town’s rugby club since.

The Le Chéile secondary school opened in September 2021 in the town's former Cork Film Centre.

In November 2021, the Department of Education was refused planning by the city council for “interim accommodation” for the school on a section of car park at nearby Ballincollig GAA club, prompting the department to build new temporary accommodation for the students and teachers on a site to the rear of Ballincollig Community School.

They moved into that modular accommodation last week.

The department has spent several years trying to source a suitable site for each of the schools.

Last year, it indicated its intention to house both schools on the 15-acre Lisheens site which was zoned for educational use in the new city development plan, which came into effect last year.

The greenfield site, which is immediately west of the Lisheen Woods housing estate, contains one uninhabitable residential dwelling, is bounded on the south by the Ballincollig bypass and on the north by the R608.

It is on the route of a 24-hour high-frequency bus service, and also on the indicative route of the proposed Cork light rail project.

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At the time the CPO was published, the department was urged to fast-track the delivery of permanent buildings for both schools given school construction projects can take several years.