Cork council plan aims to upgrade Blackpool village with new parks and green spaces

One of the four key projects is an enlarged village square wrapping around the Church of the Annunciation, supported by the removal of traffic north of the church

(Left to right) Gráinne O’Donnell, chair of Blackpool Regeneration Group, Lord Mayor Cllr Damian Boylan, Valerie O’Sullivan, chief executive of Cork City Council, Sharon McDonnell, senior executive planner for Cork City Council, Tara Kennedy, project architect and Niall O’Donnabháin, director of Service for Planning and Development for Cork City Council at the launch of the Blackpool Village Core Concept Design and Implementation Strategy today. Picture: Darragh Kane

Blackpool village in Cork City is to get a facelift in the coming years with plans for an enlarged village square, multiple new parks and an initiative to tackle vacancy.

The Blackpool Village Core Concept Design and Implementation Strategy notes that Blackpool Village in the 18th and 19th centuries saw rapid growth of industries including mills, breweries, distilleries, tanneries and cattle facilities.

The decline of these industries from the mid-20th century marked the decline of the village centre, while the latter part of the century saw the construction of the shopping centre and Blackpool surrender a lot of its public realm to traffic.

An assessment identifies vacancy and dereliction as an ongoing issue, with a rate of 30% to 32% vacancy in commercial and hospitality premises. Land use analysis indicates that Blackpool comprises just 9% green space, of which only 1% is publicly accessible, resulting in a “significant deficiency”.

Community engagement highlighted poor public realm conditions including uneven footpaths, inadequate crossings and poor lighting as well as flood risk, traffic-related noise and air quality impacts, and ongoing issues with illegal dumping as further challenges.

Alongside plans for enhanced public lighting and additional trees and planters, the strategy is structured around four key projects.

The first is an enlarged village square wrapping around the Church of the Annunciation, supported by the removal of traffic north of the church.

Berwick Lane, beside the former cinema now occupied by Cork Community Art Link, was described as “dangerous and unwelcoming” currently. 

The council plans to pedestrianise it and put in a new community café and a pocket park, which could host street theatre and community art, after consulting with gardaí over concerns around the potential for anti-social behaviour.

It also plans to reconfigure the N20 crossing and transform the “underutilised” green space west of the road into a community garden, while east of the N20 will be home to an accessible hillside park with seating areas.

The council noted that the benefits of these public realm projects would be limited by ongoing issues with vacancy, so the fourth action is a dedicated One Stop Shop Pilot in Blackpool to support the refurbishment and reoccupation of vacant and derelict properties, through streamlining access to funding programmes and supports.

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This project can be progressed in the short term, by 2030, while the other three will require capital investment and project development including design, site acquisition and to go through planning processes.

Façade improvements around the new village square site can be delivered in the coming years, but the majority of the other projects are likely to be ongoing for the next decade.

Cork City Council chief executive Valerie O'Sullivan said: “Blackpool Village was once a thriving hub on the city's Northside — it is time to restore its vibrancy and enhance its distinctive character for a new future.” 

Louise Jordan of the Blackpool Community Centre said: “The proposals will be wonderful for Blackpool. We know that many plans have been proposed before and not acted on, we are determined that will not happen again.”