Cork City Council chief outlines bold vision for the docklands and cultural quarter

In her first sit-down media interview as Cork City Council chief executive, Valerie O'Sullivan discusses her hopes and plans for the city and its expansive docklands

A panoramic aerial shot of the docklands area of Cork taken mid April 2025

A new cultural quarter on South Main St, optimism around delivering homes for 25,000 people in the docklands, and a belief that the Counting House would be "fantastic as a library" are some of the key targets of the new head of Cork City Council.

In her first comprehensive interview as the local authority’s second female chief executive, Valerie O’Sullivan said: "There’s a window of opportunity that exists for Cork now to do things and to do them right, and we have to walk through it.

"In a lot of ways, it’s kind of now or never."

Cork City Council CEO Valerie O'Sullivan. Picture Clare Keogh

The long-term hope for the docklands is to deliver about 10,000 homes. One large-scale residential development is on hold because the site involved, the Gouldings Fertilisers site on Centre Park Road, cannot, for now, be freed up. An Bord Pleanála refused the company permission to relocate to Marino Point in Belvelly Port, Cobh, because of inadequate roads. Is there a Plan B?

Gouldings alternative site will obviously be in Cork County Council’s area. But there’s plenty can happen (in the docklands) while Gouldings are trying to relocate. Currently we have just shy of 3,400 units, with planning, live in the docklands and 823 other units with decisions pending. Within that number, the Gouldings footprint accounts for about 1,300 units; another 639 are under construction in the docklands (302 apartments on Horgan’s Quay via BAM/Clarendon/Land Development Agency and 337 in the Marina Quarter, via Glenveagh Properties/ LDA). The Gouldings (32 acre) site has a 10-year planning permission, so I would think there is time [for the development to be delivered] but timelines could be impacted. But it is, ultimately I believe, deliverable under the current planning grant.

O’Callaghan Properties (the developers behind the proposed Gouldings site residential development) had hoped to start building on Kennedy Quay last year as part of a separate planning permission for a €350m mixed-use development across 4.1acres. Are you concerned about a delay there?

I’m not concerned about the delay there because the planning permission is there for the development, and the parent permission was amended only earlier this year to alter the permitted development, and that to me underlines that progress is being made and that intention to develop is there, so I’m not too concerned about OCP on Kennedy Quay.

Do you know why it’s taking so long to get going on the site?

Well I have an idea, but I think that’s for O’Callaghan Properties to say.

Is it a source of frustration to you?

No, not at all. What we do is we work with developers to make things possible for them. We’re not in the business of refusing, being awkward, presenting obstacles. We listen to whatever challenges they encounter, and we try to remove those in so far as our role allows and that’s exactly what we are doing.

What’s happening with the former Sextant/Carey’s Tool hire site on Albert Quay where John Cleary Developments (JCD) has permission for a 24-storey apartment block and an Approved Housing Body (AHB) is also involved? Is that going to commence soon?

I believe it will get going yes, the AHB and John Cleary are always engaged with us to enable that to happen. Yes, I do believe that will get going.

The Sextant site on Albert Quay.

The Land Development Agency (LDA) must be a big help in terms of funding housing and being able to go in and get things going — I presume they’ll have a massive role in the docklands?

Yes, it is a big help. I suppose what we want is absolutely for the LDA to be involved, but that there is a mix of tenure in the docklands, that it can’t all be subvented development, or all be social. There should be loads of affordable (homes) in the docklands and private rental and for sale. That’s really what I believe a successful docklands looks like.

What’s happening on Custom House Quay? (The Tower group has clearance since 2021 for a €150m development, including a 34-storey hotel). Is it going to go ahead?

What I can say is that we are in contact with owners of all challenging vacant sites with a view to development.

The docklands plan envisages 22,500 people living there. Will land have to be rezoned?

We are looking at a population of up to 25,000 living in the docklands and to achieve that, no additional re-zoning is required to facilitate residential development. There’s sufficient [land] there to deliver on that. And generally the docklands is well serviced because of its proximity to the city centre. Our docklands team is engaged all of the time with utility providers and we collectively, with them, don’t see any significant delays that will stall development, so it’s in a good place to deliver on that 25,000-person target.

There are big plans for Tivoli Docks where the hope is to deliver up to 5,000 homes (LDA has identified the potential in the long term). Is the city council working in the background with stakeholders to see how that can be moved along?

We are talking to all of those stakeholders to ensure lands will be unlocked. I suppose I’m a firm believer that if we play our part in things like amenity infrastructure, public realm and other types of infrastructure, if we can do that to kickstart pace, pace usually happens.

In terms of transport infrastructure, how confident are you that the proposed Cork Luas light rail line will go ahead? Taoiseach Micheál Martin said at the launch of the preferred route this week that it would be transformational for the city and would facilitate the opening up of the docklands for homes and jobs.

I think it’s totally feasible that light rail will be delivered. The Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) timeline is 2040, but it’s very encouraging to hear the Taoiseach singing the local authority tune that we have been singing for years, which is acceleration of infrastructure and delivery and removal of obstacles that cause delays and so on. If that happens it could be there before 2040. Light rail is actually critical to the growth of Cork City and of the wider docklands. And then the Kent Station bridge that’s proposed, that will connect Kent Station with the South Docks and that has been allocated funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund as well (under which €353m was allocated to the Cork city 147ha docklands regeneration project).

What about the other two proposed bridges, the Eastern Gateway Bridge near Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and Water Street Bridge linking the north docks to Marina commercial park?

I think they will be delivered in a timely manner, but they are not the priority deliverables. Look, Cork Docklands is a once in a lifetime sustainable transport project and it has the capacity to see over 80% of journeys made on public transport, walking, or cycling. That’s kind of unheard of this side of the country. And what we are trying to do is emphasise the importance now of delivering green spaces and that’s why you see the Marina Promenade, the next phase of Marina Park coming on stream, and next year, we have Part 8 planning for the City to Docklands road (Par 8 permits elected members grant permission) which supports walking, cycling, public transport, and ultimately, light rail. So we are trying to prepare the ground for all these massive investments that are coming forward.

Will the new light rail system have the capacity to be extended in the future?

The straight answer is I don’t know. We’ve been years at this. On Monday morning last, when the emerging preferred route was agreed — and people who aren’t in the sector mightn’t understand the level of work and detail and study and advocacy that has gone into bringing us to this point — it was well tested(the proposed route). So if we get that, great. I suppose my answer to everything — look at the Dunkettle Interchange, that was upgraded to make the tunnel a better through route — is that anything is capable, I think, of being added to in the future. But if we get this, we’ll have done an awful lot.

Are you happy that the project has the full commitment of the Taoiseach and the Government?

I couldn’t be happier, really, at this point in time. My priority is to secure the maximum investment in Cork and to secure it now because the growth is coming. We are meeting our population targets, our jobs targets. People want to live here, work here, invest here and there’s no point in coming unless these investments have been made in the city.

An artist's impression of the Cork South Docks proposal from O'Callaghan Properties.

As the second biggest city — stated in government policy — is Cork getting the second biggest share of government funding?

Huge investment has happened here, and it’s not enough. The €353m for the docklands — that’s not going to deliver the whole docklands. But I think everybody knows that in government and on the executive side. But there’s a lot to be done and can be achieved with that and to build on it.

The framework delivery plan for the docklands is out soon — can you give any steer on that? Will the south docks and north docks have separate delivery plans?

We will publish it (south docks plan) on April 30. It is a delivery plan, not a strategy or a picture of what the docklands might be. It explains what will be and how that will be delivered. I think it’s fantastic to be at the delivery point of anything, but particularly the docklands. And the north docks planning application will deliver the kind of green spaces and amenity potential on the other side of the river and that’s due in Q2 of this year.

Will the commercial parks/existing businesses remain where they are in the docklands as it regenerates?

Some of them will have an option to stay. I suppose we don’t know yet, there are viable businesses down there.

The City Development Plan envisages eight “character areas” in the docklands eg the Marina Quarter, the Polder Quarter, the Wharf Quarter — what’s the thinking behind that?

That’s right, they are areas that will be easily identifiable by name and create distinctive characteristics along the river frontage and the docklands area, but I want to do the very same thing in the city centre. Because what I believe firmly is that you can’t have a two-tier city, where all the bells and whistles, all the high quality public realm construction is happening towards the east of the city, and the central island and the western end of the city isn’t of the same equivalence in appearance, quality, attractiveness. I mean we failed if that’s the project we have in 2040. That can’t happen. So that is why we have a director for the city centre (Cormac Ó Suilleabháin). We now have proposals for sites, premises, and bundles of sites in the city centre, with a view to bringing them to the market in the context of what we are going to do around those, the same way as we are doing them in the docklands. So for example Bishop Lucey Park, South Main St, the two bridges connecting (from the former Beamish & Crawford site to the opposite quays), creating permeability on that side of the city, I see that as the city’s Cultural Quarter.

So the South Main St area is to become the city’s new Cultural Quarter?

Yes. You already have student accommodation there, you already have the city library there, albeit not the most ideal. You have huge investment gone into the bridges to create that permeability (€8m) and the South Main St pedestrianisation and Bishop Lucey Park, so why wouldn’t you build on that.

Do you think that the city library might move to the former Beamish & Crawford Counting House?

It will have to move somewhere because it’s just not good enough for a European city. It is not a library befitting Cork. I’d prefer to move the library into something of a far higher standard to cater for a growing population than spend money on refurbishing what’s there.

The Counting House. Picture: Denis Minihane

Is the Counting House in the running for that?

I think it would be fantastic as a library.

What about North Main St? There’s a lot of upper floors and not much living above the shop?

Again there are a lot of plans and possibilities that we are bringing forward for blocks on the North Main St and hopefully soon you will see us moving on at least one of those. But I think North Main St is ripe for a living over the shop demonstrator project. Living over the shop, to me, is key to a successful city centre, that’s what happens successfully in other European cities. It brings huge life, security, passive policing, footfall to the city centre, I think it would change the whole profile of the city centre, but unfortunately for living over the shop, we’ve regulated ourselves out of viability. But the Government will change that as well. If people can see what is possible, confidence increases. And I have to say the lack of development in some parts of the city is not for want of interest from developers, it’s just very expensive. Brownfield sites are very expensive prospects, and other areas are easier to locate to, but we have fantastic bones in the city and we have a duty to try and put the flesh on those.

In terms of bringing employment and investment to the docklands — the talk is of 5,000 additional jobs in the docklands over time, on top of the 7,000 that are already there. How concerned are you about the impact of the current US administration and uncertainty about tariffs?

Of course, tariffs are going to have far reaching impacts down on Cork docklands, it’s a concern for everyone. We’ll monitor matters and engage with government and other key stakeholders. But I think what we have done so far, particularly through the Taoiseach, and his colleagues in government, has been very sensible. I think the pace at which the diktats come from the US administration, I think shouldn’t be met with the same sort of impulsiveness from our side, and they are not.

The proposals put forward recently by the owners of the Marina Market to build an event centre in the docklands — do you regard that as a serious proposal? If it is a serious proposal, what does it mean for the event centre earmarked for so long for South Main St? A South Main St location would tie in well with a new cultural quarter?

I just want an event centre to be in Cork. I can’t say whether the proposal from that (Marina Market) site is serious or not because we haven’t received it yet, because we are not in the tender process yet, but we are at the start of a procurement process. It will be a fresh one, we are absolutely determined to deliver an event centre in this city, and I suppose we are bolstered in that by a firm statement in the National Development Plan, which is government policy, that the next event centre in this country will be in Cork. So we have to deliver it, and the procurement process will flush out the best proposal.

An aerial view of the Navigation square development on Albert Quay in Cork City Centre. South Docks. Picture: Chani Anderson

Is the event centre tied to the South Main St site?

As with any tender or procurement process, we will put parameters around what is required, in the context of the Cork City requirement. People tendering will either meet the criteria or they won’t.

So will it be a site-specific tender?

It’s too early to say that. It will just be a fresh procurement process and the conditions, parameters, requirements haven’t been fleshed out. The project development board has been established, so now there is a level of governance, with regard to this project, at the highest levels. And the planning process is an independent process, so let’s see how it pans out. The big message is we are going to get an event centre in Cork or die trying. And the time is now because it’s in government policy.

The Northern Distributor Road, proposed to run between Carrigrohane and Glanmire, how far off is that?

Realistically, it’s a seven-to-10-year timeline, that is the pace of delivering roads in Ireland. To me, it’s hugely positive that we’ve actually arrived at this juncture, where the preferred route went out to public consultation and people are really engaged, so submissions are in, and the team is going through them at the moment. But to me this is the road that was missing from the northside to unlock land for high quality residential and commercial investment. This is one that the southside had and the northside didn’t.

The northside is not getting light rail — is it trickier topography?

It actually isn’t to do with topography. To justify the provision, by the State, of light rail you have to have a certain level of patronage and the northside doesn’t have it. Not enough people in the northside are looking to access other areas. There are just not sufficient numbers. It’s very easy to have these kind of judgments “it’s happening here but not there”— but there is always a rational and empirical evidence-based reasons why it can’t.

What Cork’s proposed Luas-style system might look like.

Do you think the northside might get light rail down the line?

My answer to that is if the patronage on that side of the city increases — and I believe it could hugely as a result of the Northern Distributor Road — then why not? You just have to make the business case.

What about the criticism from tech giant Apple about the length of time it takes to get road infrastructure improvements through?

You can’t argue with that. It’s absolutely true. You just can’t argue with them.

When is work likely to start on the Northern Distributor Road?

We intend to have it with An Bord Pleanála in 2027. I do think there’s a window of opportunity that exists for Cork now to do things and to do them right, and we have to walk through it. And you can hear the support in political circles. In a lot of ways, it’s kind of now or never. Or we’ll be retrofitting and frustrated and that’s not where we want to be. So much has happened in the last six months, and it’s just to keep the momentum going.