'Incomprehensible' says developer as 1,150 Cork homes rejected 

Michael O'Flynn launched a scathing attack on Cork City Council after planning was refused for over 1,000 homes in Ballincollig 

A computer-generated picture of the proposed 1,150-home development in Ballincollig by the O'Flynn Group.

One of the country's largest housebuilders, Michael O'Flynn, has launched a scathing attack on Cork City Council, describing its decision to reject plans for more than 1,000 homes in Ballincollig as "disappointing" and "incomprehensible".

The O'Flynn Group chair and CEO said it was "unacceptable" at a time of "an unprecedented national housing crisis" that a housing scheme of 1,150 homes would be refused on lands zoned for housing. 

Adjoining developments in the Maglin area of Ballincollig had been granted permission, said the developer, who pledged to submit "a robust appeal" to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

While the council does not comment on planning decisions, a key reason given in its refusal letter was that such large-scale development was premature, pending delivery of a vital piece of road infrastructure in the Maglin area.

Enshrined in the Cork City Development Plan is recognition that the future development of the Maglin/South Ballincollig Area (of which the site forms part) "is dependent on the delivery of the South Ballincollig Sustainable Transport Corridor to ensure development occurs in a sustainable manner that does not negatively impact on the wider road network".

The Maglin area of Ballincollig.

The council stated that delivery of the corridor "should precede or be delivered in conjunction with any future residential development".

"Having regard to the location of the site, the substandard nature of Maglin Road, and the absence of definite proposals for the provision of the South Ballincollig Sustainable Transport Corridor, it is considered that the proposed development would be premature" and would be "contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".

However, Mr O'Flynn said adjoining developments had been given permission "despite having the same zoning, greater levels of car parking/dependency, and reliance on this same Sustainable Transport Corridor".

His statement also pointed to difficulties with an adjoining developer in delivering the corridor and he called on the council to use its compulsory acquisition powers.

"This infrastructure would be provided at a considerable cost. In fact, the entirety of the Sustainable Access Corridor would have been included in our application, however the adjoining developer would not consent to this.

"In such circumstances, it is incumbent on the city council to use its CPO powers to unlock strategic infrastructure and prevent private interests having a veto on much needed housing, especially in the middle of a housing crisis in a designated Urban Expansion Area," Mr O'Flynn said.

The developer, who has already built around 2,000 homes in the Ballincollig area, said the planning refusal would affect not just the O'Flynn Construction housing delivery pipeline, but also "the businesses and sub-contractors who collaborate with us".

He added that while the council had identified the location as suitable for strategic housing more than 15 years ago, it had failed to secure the funding to deliver the infrastructure that would unlock it.

"Blocking the delivery of 1,150 homes on land zoned for housing for over 15 years sends entirely the wrong message at a time when housing supply has never been more critical," the developer said.