Cairn Homes expected on site in Blarney in January to begin €1.2bn housing development 

The multi-phase development is expected to take 10-12 years

Ger and Clare Forrest on their property at Castleview, Blarney, Co Cork. They said the new housing plan is 'exciting'. Picture: Larry Cummins

A second planning application linked to the largest house-building project in Blarney’s history has been lodged by Clockstrike Ltd as part of a €1.2bn multi-phase expansion of the historic Cork village.

Clockstrike, linked to Cork venture capitalist Finbarr O’Leary, is seeking approval for 323 homes on land at Ringwood, north-east of the village, having secured permission last June for phase 1 of the development, which will deliver 246 units and a 137-place creche, also at Ringwood. 

The country’s largest housebuilder, Cairn Homes plc, has come on board in a joint venture with local landowners the Forrest family and Mr O’Leary’s Rockfleet Joint Ventures Ltd to deliver the project, which should see up to 3,000 units built on lands at Ringwood and Stoneview, on opposite sides of the N20, over the next decade or so.

Work on phase 1 is due to get underway early in the new year and prospective house buyers are expected to be able to view a “showcourt” — a mix of different house types — by the autumn. Preparatory works are already underway at Ringwood, on land farmed by the Forrest family for five generations.

Ger Forrest told the Irish Examiner that the first seeds of the development plan were planted when the family farm, Castleview, was “dissected” by the new Mallow Rd (N20) in the late ‘80s.

The first time development came to our property was when the farm was cut in two by the Mallow Rd.

“That diluted the ability to guarantee that farming would remain in our future,” Mr Forrest said.

A few years later, his late father, Robert Forrest, sold off farmland at Stoneview, where Blarney Business Park is now located.

In 2006, developers John Bowen, John Fleming, and Coleman Bros assembled a massive landbank at Stoneview and created a master plan for its development, but it fell victim to the economic crash.

Subsequently, the Forrest family worked with Mr O’Leary on site assembly, building up a landbank of 250 acres, which includes 105 acres at Stoneview, which Mr O’Leary bought from Nama for €7m in 2020, with the backing of Elkstone Capital.

With Cairn Homes now on board, Elkstone is set to bow out.

Mr O’Leary told the Irish Examiner that Cairn are due to go on site in January.

We are looking forward to working with them in this joint venture.

Mr Forrest described the ambitious housing plan as “exciting”. 

It’s definitely a big departure for us. All of us — my mother and three brothers — have great pride in our home.

“When I was a child, our farm extended to 270-280 acres and we will literally not have any farmland left, so yes, it’s a big departure for us,” he said.

The family owned lands at both Ringwood and Stoneview. The Ringwood lands are being developed first, as they are closer to Blarney village and development will gradually extend out to Stoneview. 

The multi-phase development — to be known as Forreston (not connected to the Forrest family name) — is expected to take 10-12 years and its success is very much linked to the development of a new railway station in Stoneview.

The two sites flank the N20 and encircle lands earmarked for the long-awaited Blarney railway station and proposed adjoining park and ride. The railway station is key to the transport-oriented development, and a railway order is due to be submitted.

The intended delivery date for the new station is 2028. Two bridges over the N20 will also be required.

Phase two 

A key feature of the phase two planning application which was lodged this week relates to a new access road to the site, which will form the first phase of the proposed Stoneview access link road or New Station Rd.

It’s intended to provide for long term access into the Stoneview development area to the north of the N20 and the Cork-Dublin Rail line. In doing so, it will provide access to the proposed Blarney Railway Station.

The main body of the road, including a new access junction onto the R617, will be delivered as part of phase 2 of the scheme that is the subject of this application.

The final element of the road, extending north over the N20 and the rail line, will be delivered in conjunction with the development of the Stoneview lands, which are in the last phases of the development. 

A decision on the phase 2 planning application — which also includes a 1,724sq m primary care centre, a pharmacy, and a cafe/restaurant — is due in March.

The housing units that form part of the application include 52 duplexes in five three storey buildings; 114 apartments in two five storey buildings and 157 terraced, end-of-terrace and detached houses.