Survey works to start on Cork landbank with potential for 4,000 homes

State land agency set to acquire 41 hectares of site in Kilbarry on the city's northside for housing development

The site is part of an IDA-owned 77-hectare landbank at Kilbarry, which extends north and south of Kilbarry Business Park.

Survey works are about to start on a massive State-owned landbank on the northside of Cork City to guide development on a site which could yield more than 4,000 homes.

However, it could be years before any construction starts given the constraints on the site at Kilbarry, where the estimated cost of providing the required infrastructure for housing is put at up to €130m, with another €170m required for what has been described as “abnormal infrastructure”.

The site is part of an IDA-owned 77-hectare landbank at Kilbarry, which extends north and south of  Kilbarry Business Park, and which is flanked on the west by Dublin Hill Upper.

About 41 hectares have been identified for transfer to the Land Development Agency (LDA) under the Government’s Housing for All programme.

The overall landbank was among 83 parcels of public land across 10 cities and towns which were identified by the LDA last year as having the potential to yield a combined total of some 67,000 social and affordable homes in the medium to long term.

The sites were classified on their potential to deliver residential development, with class 1 the least constrained, or easiest to develop, and class 3 sites the most challenging — these sites need "a number of supports" to unlock their development potential, the LDA said.

The northern section of the Kilbarry land is deemed class 3.

In a briefing to local public representatives this week, the LDA said it is had engaged with local landowners and other stakeholders in and around the Kilbarry site in recent months, including with some of the members of the Murphy's Rock/Bride Valley Support Group, on their long-term plan for the site.

And it has now confirmed a range of “non-invasive survey work”, including topographical and ecological surveys, and other analysis work will be undertaken at the site over the coming weeks and months to inform its long-term approach to the site.

While the LDA’s 2023 Report on Relevant Public Land suggested the site could potentially yield between 3,250 and 4,420 homes, it says these were estimates only, and much more detailed analysis is now required.

The LDA is currently developing 265 homes at the former St Kevin’s Hospital site on the Lee Road in Cork.

“In the short to medium term, survey individuals and teams may be visible on the lands conducting these studies, and we are informing the key stakeholders now of this to allay any immediate concerns,” the LDA said.

“These are early-stage surveys and studies designed to gain a better understanding of the conditions, constraints and opportunities of the site and to understand the environmental, technical and infrastructure considerations.

“The analysis will assist the LDA in understanding the options in any possible future development.” 

It said when the works were complete, the LDA planned to develop a “robust and proactive” consultation and engagement plan to keep everyone informed of any plans for the site.

The LDA is currently developing 265 homes at the former St Kevin’s Hospital site on the Lee Road in Cork, a former HSE site.

Other public sites identified in the 2023 report with massive housing potential include an ESB-owned landbank alongside its offices on Sarsfield Road in Wilton, the CIE-owned Capwell bus depot, CIE-owned land on the North Docks alongside Kent Station, the Port of Cork’s Tivoli landbank and the former Cork Prison site on Rathmore Road.