'Make or break' time as future of Cork events centre project rests with Cabinet

A computer-generated image of BAM's plans for the Cork event centre.

The future of the beleaguered Cork event centre project now rests with Cabinet as the city enters a period of “unprecedented transformation” with some €2.5bn investment planned over the coming years.

The update emerged during a media briefing from Cork City Council on Tuesday on plans for substantial investment in housing, sustainable transport, parks, public spaces and climate resilience over the next five years to position the city as a counterweight to development in the capital.

Some €190m will be spent priming Cork docklands for regeneration.

The event centre has been described as a vital infrastructural project to help safeguard the future of the city centre, but sources say it's now reached “make or break” time.

Some €57m in state funding has already been pledged to the project. Soaring inflation over the last two years has seen up to €45m added to earlier estimates.

Council chief executive Ann Doherty confirmed that her officials, who have been overseeing the tortuous saga for over a decade through various planning, cost, legal and pandemic challenges, have submitted to the Department of Local Government a raft of documentation on the final costings of the proposed 6,000-capacity venue with planning on South Main St, setting out the scale of additional funding required.

She declined to be drawn on how much is required but said officials in the department will analyse the documentation the council has submitted, and then prepare a memo for Cabinet which will ultimately make the decision on whether to sanction the additional funding.

It is expected the matter could come before cabinet within weeks. It will be eight years next month since the sod was turned on the site. 

Investment projects

While the city waits for a decision on the events centre, the council said it plans to push ahead with massive investment in and around the event centre site, including the regeneration of Bishop Lucey Park, a €60m investment in the streetscape around historic South Main St, Tuckey St, Crosses Green and Proby's Quay, and the construction of two new pedestrian bridges onto the event centre site.

Work is underway on the regeneration of Bishop Lucey Park in Cork.

Work on the park is underway, with work on the streetscape due to get underway over the coming months.

But with the city’s population set to increase by 110,000 to 353,500 by 2040, the council said substantial additional investment will be required over the next five years to help manage this growth sustainably. 

Aside from investment in BusConnects, the council said:

• €1.9bn has been earmarked for housing;
• €120m for walking and cycling facilities including the Marina Promenade upgrade; 
• €200m will be invested in rail and light rail planning and design; 
• €190m will be spent priming Cork docklands for regeneration;
• €40m will be spent on flood prevention, with building work on the Morrison’s Island scheme due to start within months, and final designs for the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme due to be submitted for ministerial approval next year;  
• €35m has been set aside for the construction of a new city library, with site acquisition in the Grand Parade area due to start soon; 
• €25m on public realm improvements, including a revamp of Emmet Place to tie in with the redevelopment of the Crawford Gallery, with Part 8 design proposals due to be published for public consultation within a few months;
• and €14m on the second phase of Marina Park. 

“Our expanding city presents huge opportunities: to become a city of scale with top class public transport and a vibrant city centre, a greener city with safe, new and attractive amenities and a much improved public realm and a healthier city that is easier to get around on foot or by bike,” Ms Doherty said.

€190m will be spent priming Cork docklands for regeneration.

“Cork City Council cannot deliver a more sustainable and liveable city on its own. It can support the creation of conditions for a more sustainable way of living but it needs support from residents, communities and business and an acknowledgement that the transition, while challenging at times, will ultimately deliver for the city and its people.” 

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The council also said three times more housing was built in Cork city between 2019 and 2023 than in the previous five years, with 1,414 social housing units delivered under the government's housing for all strategy, with 1,529 more in the pipeline for delivery by 2026, and another 1,871 planned.

An aerial view of the planned redevelopment of Bishop Lucey Park. Picture: Cork City Council.

It said 1,145 social housing units are under construction, valued at just over €400m, with the total to be delivered by 2026 is valued at €1.9bn, with ambitious affordable housing targets too, with thousands of homes earmarked for the docklands, which officials say has capacity for 22,500 new residents.

The city insisted it is working to address city centre dereliction, with over 500 active derelict sites under investigation and CPOs issued recently on a long-time derelict site on Kyrl's Quay.