Cork council merger: Green belt key to preserving city’s identity

Having considered this matter very carefully, I believe the greatest challenge is to propose a local government structure which equitably serves the diverse needs of county and city residents. The availability of adequate funding is critical to this challenge, writes Michael McGrath.

I do not want Cork to repeat the mistakes of other cities with the result of a continuous urban sprawl at the expense of an identifiable city centre core. We currently have a metropolitan green belt surrounding the city and its environs.

From a planning perspective, this serves a very useful purpose in having a distinctive city separated from commuter satellite towns (for example, Carrigaline, Midleton, and Blarney). I do not believe it represents sustainable planning to allow the city extend into this green belt especially when parts of the city are undoubtedly in need of regeneration and investment.