Plans for over 170 homes on outskirts of Cork City approved by council

Council greenlit bid from Bridgewater Homes for 104 houses and 72 apartment/duplex units despite objections 

The new 'Maryborough Manor' development will be located in Maryborough Hill, Moneygurney

Plans for a large-scale residential development spanning more than 170 homes on the outskirts of Cork City has been approved by the council. 

Developer Bridgewater Homes lodged plans in December last year to demolish an existing house and telecommunications mast in Moneygurney in Douglas to make way for 176 homes, with connections to the surrounding areas where planning has already been approved for a further 650 units.

The site, spanning more than four hectares, forms part of the south environs of Cork City. The newly-approved homes will consist of 104 houses, comprising a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units, along with 72 apartment/duplex units.

These apartments, spanning a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, would be spread across five apartment blocks ranging between two and four storeys in height. Associated works also include a three-storey creche and undercroft car parking, as well as pedestrian and cycle access, car and bicycle parking, bin and bike stores, drainage, landscaping, public lighting, boundary treatments and amenity areas.

The new 'Maryborough Manor' development will be located in Maryborough Hill, Moneygurney.

The proposed development will also provide two vehicular/pedestrian connections to the Maryborough Ridge residential development to the west and includes improvements to the local road and footpath network on L-6477 Maryborough Hill, with two new pedestrian crossings at the existing roundabout north of the site. Vehicular access to the proposed creche will be shared with an existing dwelling house on adjoining lands.

Further information

Cork City Council requested further information on the development, seeking clarification on layout drawings, potential anti-social behaviour, drainage arrangements and potential detrimental impacts on residential amenities. 

The plans received over a dozen submissions, including from a residents' association which objected to the project. 

In its letter to the council, the group said the proposed access routes were "unsuitable and unsafe" for the volume of traffic generated by 176 new homes, and that increased traffic would pose a "serious risk" to pedestrian and child safety within a "family-oriented estate."

It also argued that the development would have negative impacts on existing residents, including noise and air pollution, and would set an "undesirable precedent" whereby established residential estates could be used as access routes for future large-scale developments. 

Despite these objections, Cork City Council approved the plans, granting permission with 48 conditions.