Water’s edge site an attractive opportunity

SITES don’t come with much more rarity value than this one, an acre-plus at the water’s edge on Castle Road, near Cork’s harbour landmark Blackrock Castle.

It is a site with a distant and recent past: originally occupied by Brighton House Hotel and adjoining outdoor swimming baths, it also was home to a city merchant family in the 1900s before slowly going to dereliction and demolition.

Planning was sought in the late 1990s for an apartment scheme here, just beneath road level, but the scale of ambition ran into objections and the project stalled.

The 1.14 acre site between the road and the river has a steep access path, and comes with views up, down and across the river Lee. Castle Road itself has some of Cork's most attractive and varied period homes, one or two new developments, including apartments, are creeping in (including one planned by the boat club entrance), but only Blackrock Castle has a superior setting.

Brighton House's site has changed hands once or twice in the last few years alone. It is now back on the market for sale with Con Dennehy of Property Choice a well-known city publican turned with relish to the property sales game.

He launched the 1.14 acre site this month with a €500,000 guide, and it is gone over that in offers already.

It is likely that developers will seek permission for a scheme of waterside apartments or townhouses. A very high quality design will be needed to do justice to the site.

Cork City Council has itself got plans for a waterside walkway between the pier at Blackrock village and Blackrock Castle, which is being adapted for use as an observatory.