Concrete corridor with few amenities
Is there any larger design behind the planning decisions being made for east Cork by its elected representatives?
Is their aim to concrete a 15-mile corridor?
The proposed location of the Amgen factory is notable only for its isolation. It is not directly adjacent to any other facility, but it is close to the sprawling outskirts of Carrigtohill.
Close to Midleton on the wrong side of a fast road, two farms have been rezoned to allow for up to 2,000 homes.
A few miles towards Cork there are several quarries, with more on the way. Fine lime dust coats everything here and locals know it is in their lungs.
On the Cork side of Carrigtohill there are the chemical factories, then the ‘metal city’ of Little Island and, soon, a new village in Dunkettle. With the Amgen decision, it will not be too difficult for determined interests to join the dots, but because big money and jobs are involved, those interests know that we ordinary citizens won’t have the gall to resist.
Look around east Cork and count the parks and amenities for ordinary people. Not a lot, and certainly not enough.
Land is too valuable now to farm, let alone to use for enjoyment.
So what is the aim of east Cork’s planners and councillors?
What happens to local farmers? Is it to hell or to Connaught?
Why were the people of Midleton told they needed more houses before the railway could be reopened when, in fact, the town had more supermarkets than Cobh?
Did that not signify Midleton as a gateway for more people than Cobh? Why did Midleton get a small roundabout with more exits than Wilton, Sarsfield or Ballincollig?
What happens if Amgen decides to pull out and there is a global economic downturn?
I am afraid of one thing more than planners not knowing what they are doing - that the ‘plan’ is worse than I imagine.
Ann Mallory
Lios Na Gréine
South Douglas Road
Cork
