Design team to be appointed for 100-hectare public park on Cork's northside

New north-west regional park has been earmarked for a vast area just north of the Apple campus in Hollyhill

Development plan proposes a park that includes both active and passive recreational areas with interconnected spaces including parkland, natural green spaces, ecosystems, greenways and blueways. File picture: Denis Minihane

A design team should be appointed next month to draft a masterplan for a new 100-hectare public park proposed for the northside of Cork city.

Separately, work to identify the preferred route corridor for the planned new northern distributor road, which will run east-west across the city’s northside, is getting under way after a key report was approved last month.

Updates on the two major infrastructural projects for the northside of the city were presented to city councillors on Monday in response to questions submitted for answer at the January meeting of Cork City Council.

Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent asked officials for an update on the status of plans to advance the development of the new north-west regional park, which has been earmarked for a vast area just north of the Apple campus in Hollyhill.

Gerry O’Beirne, the director of services in the council’s infrastructure development directorate, said the park had been included as an objective in the new city development plan, and “an appropriate area of land” had been zoned as open space within the plan to support the delivery of the park.

He said the development plan proposes a park that includes both active and passive recreational areas with interconnected spaces including parkland, natural green spaces, ecosystems, greenways and blueways.

“The new park is intended to create green linkages between the city and its hinterland, complimenting biodiversity and providing important economic, leisure, health and environmental benefits to the northwest quadrant of the city,” he said.

But he said an overall masterplan would be required to guide the development of the park and tenders for the appointment of a multidisciplinary design team to progress the masterplan were issued in November.

“It is expected that the successful tenderer will be appointed in February and that work on the preparation of the masterplan will be progressed thereafter,” he said.

Councillors will be kept updated and briefed on the plans before any public consultation takes place, he said.

Northern distributor road

Separately, in response to a question from Labour councillor John Maher about the status of plans for the new northern distributor road, Mr O’Beirne said a strategic appraisal report for the road was approved last month, clearing the way for the design team to start work on the concept development and options selection phase.

“This work is now under way and it is anticipated that council will be undertaking non-statutory public consultation on the preferred scheme routing in the coming months. This will be followed by the preliminary design and planning approval phases for the scheme,” he said.

The proposed road was included in the 2020 Cmats public transport blueprint, with a target delivery date of 2031.

The so-called multi-modal road will cater for bus, pedestrian, cycle and some strategic or general traffic in a bid to reduce reliance on routes through Cork city centre.