An Bord Pleanála refuses planning for €40m apartment scheme on Bessborough site

The long-awaited ruling by the planning appeals board upholds a decision by Cork City Council in January 2023 to refuse planning to developers MWB Two for the scheme

A computer-generated image of the planned 92-unit residential development at Bessborough in Blackrock. Picture: SHIPSEYBARRY

A group which represents survivors of the former Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork mother and baby home say the mothers "feel vindicated" after An Bórd Pleanála refused planning for a €40m apartment scheme on the grounds of the estate.

The long-awaited ruling upholds a decision by Cork City Council in January 2023 to refuse planning to developers MWB Two for the scheme on a landbank it owns on the site in Mahon.