Cork BusConnects Plan to turn 18th-century walled garden into car park still on table

Local residents Maria Young, Denise Cahill, Jim Ahern, Stephen Wills, Catherine Chaloner, Sean Coakley, Geraldine O'Sullivan, Geri Gleeson and Jo Goodyear at the entrance to the walled garden next to the Ballinlough Pitch & Putt Club and walkway to Beaumont School. Picture: Dan Linehan

A contentious proposal to turn an 18th-century walled garden into a car park for BusConnects Cork is still being considered despite not being included on the latest draft maps published for public consultation.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has admitted that its initial proposal for the car park in the historic garden next to Ballinlough pitch and putt club is still on the table as part of its draft route plans for the strategic transport corridor (STC) J Mahon to city route – one of 11 STCs planned across the city.

The news has angered residents in Beaumont, who are campaigning for the development of a community garden in the old walled garden, and who have raised concerns about the potential impact of the car park on a local school’s award-winning active travel project, and about other BusConnects measures nearby on nearby Beaumont Quarry, an urban wildlife sanctuary.

Jo Goodyear, a committee member of Beaumont Residents Association and an ecological advisor to the Cork Nature Network, said locals are very disappointed that the car park proposal off Churchyard Lane is still being considered even though it isn’t on the latest maps.

Girls from Beaumont School with teachers and local residents Maria Young, Denise Cahill, Jim Ahern, Stephen Wills, Catherine Chaloner, Sean Coakley, Geraldine O'Sullivan, Geri Gleeson and Jo Goodyear. Picture: Dan Linehan

“It feels quite deceitful, and it raises the prospect that this might not be the only place where proposals are being retained from earlier phases of public consultation despite not being on the current maps,” she said.

Ms Goodyear said the walled garden is home to breeding populations of two bat species protected under the Wildlife Acts and she said the former quarry, one of only two limestone grasslands in the city, is home to the rare little robin (geranium purpureum) plant and the scarce pale flax.

“We are so lucky in this part of the city to have such a ‘biodiversity hotspot’,” she said.

“We understand that there are pressures on both sides of this argument, but this area has to be kept as it is.

People need to make their voices heard by making submissions, and we will continue to seek meetings with the NTA to find some kind of solution.” 

The NTA said it will carry out a detailed environmental impact assessment as part of the next stage in the design process, and “will endeavour to do all it can to mitigate the impact of the proposals” on all 11 STCs.

But it did not answer questions about why it is proposing to build a car park as part of a scheme designed to encourage more people to use the bus.

Meanwhile, on the route of STC E Ballincollig to city route, there is opposition to a proposal to create an archway in a section of Ballincollig’s former army barracks walls next to Healy’s Pub at East Gate to facilitate the relocation of the existing footpath to allow for inbound and outbound cycle tracks and footpaths.

“The NTA is not proposing to impact any of the six piers (in the East Gate) and no changes are proposed to the arches that already exist as part of the structure,” the spokesman said.

“Any archway design would be sympathetic to match existing stonework.” The spokesman said all the STC designs are still only proposals and people can still make submissions.

Around 500 submissions have been made during the third round of public consultation which closes on Monday, December 18.