Cork Docklands: Bord na Móna hands over former Suttons Coals site for housing development

Housing delivery in the area is heating up with transfer of the prime site close to the former Live at the Marquee site where almost 340 apartments are under construction

The former Suttons Coals site on Monahan Rd which Bord na Móna has agreed to transfer to the Land Development Agency for residential use. The five-acre site has the potential to deliver up to 300 homes. Picture: Larry Cummins

A Bord na Móna site in Cork docklands with potential for 300 “affordable” homes has been transferred to the Land Development Agency (LDA) as residential development gathers pace in an area pivotal to the city’s future growth.

The five-acre (2.08ha) Monahan Rd site, known locally as Suttons Coals, is situated between the recently proposed Docklands and Páirc Uí Chaoimh Luas stops and is directly across the road from the former Live at the Marquee venue, where the LDA is partnering with developer/builder Glenveagh Properties Plc on the delivery of 337 apartments at Marina Depot.

The planned development of the former coal yard will add to the LDA’s ongoing activity in Cork, where already close to 1,400 homes are either in planning or already under construction.

The transfer of the Suttons Coals site to the agency follows lengthy engagement with both Bord na Móna and Cork City Council. The LDA identified the site back in 2022 in its first report on Relevant Public Land that could potentially be used for housing. The report pinned the indicative yield at 170 to 220 homes at the time and estimated that the cost of development and infrastructure would be around €52.75m.

LDA chief executive John Coleman said the completion of the Monahan Rd land transfer “is an important milestone in our efforts to unlock well-located state land for the delivery of much-needed housing”.

“This site has the potential to deliver high-quality, sustainable homes in the heart of Cork Docklands, a key growth area for the city. We are pleased to have worked collaboratively with Bord na Móna, Cork City Council, and other stakeholders to reach this point, and we look forward to progressing a planning application and advancing delivery in due course.”

Former Suttons Coals site on Monahan Road, Ballintemple Cork. Picture Larry Cummins 

Tom Donnellan, Bord na Móna chief executive, said it was “pleased to work with the LDA to deliver a positive outcome” for the strategically located site, adding: “We look forward to its transformation into much-needed homes supporting Cork City’s growth.”

The LDA would not be drawn on the level of compensation paid to Bord na Móna for the Monahan Rd site other than to confirm that Tailte Éireann, the property registration authority, had carried out an evaluation and a fee was subsequently paid. When the ESB transferred a slightly larger 6.7-acre (2.7ha) site in Wilton to the LDA in 2024, a reported consideration of about €3.1m was paid.

The Monahan Rd site is in a prime location, opposite Marina Park and promenade where the city council has invested millions in successfully developing one of the largest urban parks in the country. The site is already well connected to Cork city centre via cycle lanes and pedestrian routes and, all going to plan, should be served by a light rail (tram) system in the long term, if the Cork Luas goes ahead. Transport Infrastructure Ireland recently announced its preferred route for Cork Luas, which includes the Docklands and Páirc Uí Chaoimh Luas stops, both of which are close to the site. The proposed route runs directly in front of the Monahan Rd site.

The LDA said a portion of the land will be utilised by the council “to accommodate road widening works, to aid connectivity along Monahan Rd with the addition of bus lanes and increased cycle lane provision”.

The council’s chief executive, Valerie O’Sullivan, said the site transfer was “a very welcome step forward for the continued development of Cork Docklands and the delivery of much-needed homes in the city”.

“The Monahan Rd site is ideally located, with strong public transport links and excellent amenities, including Marina Park,” Ms O’Sullivan added.

The next step in the process will be the appointment by the LDA of a design team to prepare a planning application for the Monahan Rd project.

Subject to a successful planning application, the LDA will deliver up to 300 new, A-rated affordable homes.

The Monahan Rd project is the latest in a series of Cork City developments backed by the LDA. They include the 337-unit Marina Depot project, which is part of a wider development of more than 1,000 homes with an estimated value of €525m. The first homes at Marina Depot are expected to be completed early next year.

Across the River Lee on Horgan’s Quay, 302 apartments are close to completion in an LDA partnership with BAM and Clarendon Properties, while the first 97 units of 267 homes at the former St Kevin’s Hospital site in Shanakiel will be completed later this year, after which a tender process for phase two will follow.

The agency has also received planning permission for 345 homes on former ESB lands in Wilton, where it is hoping to be on site in the final quarter of 2026, while a detailed design process is ongoing in relation to 147 new homes at Anglesea Terrace in the city centre as part of a partnership with the city council.

Once the Anglesea Terrace design process is completed, the project will move to tender stage, with works targeted to begin in 2027, delivering the first homes in 2030.

The LDA’s programme of acquiring under-utilised state-owned land has resulted in a series of transfer processes for sites including Wilton in Cork (ESB) and The Gasworks on Dock Rd in Limerick (Gas Networks Ireland), as well as Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin (Horse Racing Ireland).

In January this year, the IDA reached agreement with the LDA on the transfer of a 101-acre (41ha) site at Kilbarry, near Blackpool, where the plan is to deliver up to 1,000 homes. The LDA has already appointed a design team and begun early planning and consultation work.

The agency also has Tivoli Docks in its crosshairs as a longer-term project for thousands of homes but the plan is contingent on the relocation of Port of Cork operations to Ringaskiddy and Marino Point. Port of Cork chief executive Ann Doherty recently warned that the port may need to remain operating at Tivoli for longer than envisaged due to lack of available land in Ringaskiddy and increased demand for offshore renewable infrastructure space.