UCC receives planning permission to redevelop Cork's Distillery Fields

Planning inspector recommended permission be refused as buildings were too high

A computer-generated image of the planned new research facility on Cork's Distillery Fields. A separate application for a new pedestrian bridge was lodged by UCC with Cork City Council but was subsequently withdrawn.

UCC and the Tyndall Institute have been granted planning permission to redevelop the Distillery Fields site at Cork’s North Mall into a new purpose-built research facility.

The proposed development will ultimately cater for 250 postgraduate students and 750 staff. The university said the planned research centre would allow Tyndall to rapidly transition from research into prototyping and manufacturing of various technologies.

The buildings will range in height from four to six storeys and will include laboratories, offices, catering and stores.

Planning permission has been granted for the development following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. In granting permission, the board overruled their planning inspector who had recommended planning be refused as the proposed buildings were too high for the site.

A separate planning application for a new cycle and pedestrian bridge that would cross the north channel of the River Lee connecting the Distillery Fields to the existing Tyndall campus was lodged in April 2021 but was subsequently withdrawn. It is expected the university will resubmit plans for the bridge at a future date.

UCC plans to demolish the former Irish Distilleries Bottling Plant to build a new 16,135 sq m facility, from four storeys at the east to six storeys at the west. This will comprise a mix of research laboratories, seminar rooms, offices, exhibition space and a cafe.

The planned demolition of the bottling plant met with significant opposition. It is widely regarded as an example of classic 1960s architecture, designed in 1964 by leading Cork architect Frank Murphy. UCC modified the plans to retain and integrate part of the southern façade, including the chimney and loading bay canopies, of the former Bottling Plant but the main processing hall will be demolished.

In its planning application, UCC said the building had been derelict since 2007 and was in a state of disrepair, with exposed and rusting re-bar to its concrete canopies and significant water damage. “It also contains asbestos on the roof covering,” the application stated.

In assessing the application, An Bord Pleanála's planning inspector said the proposed part four to six-storey is considered a 'tall building' according to the Cork City Development Plan but that the site is not identified as a location for such buildings. As a result, they recommended that permission be refused.

However, the planning appeals board overruled the recommendation and granted permission stating the city's Development Plan provides flexibility for the consideration of tall buildings.

In response to the decision a spokesperson for UCC said: "University College Cork (UCC) welcomes An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant permission for the development of a new facility which will allow our research operations at the Tyndall National Institute to be expanded."