Planning granted for Ballincollig apartments after lengthy legal battle
A computer-generated image of how the apartment development on Ballincollig's Old Fort Road would look like.
Planning permission has been granted for more than 150 homes on Ballincollig's Old Fort Road.
O'Flynn Construction have been given the go-ahead for the development of 153 homes on a site which was first approved for a housing development in 2020, and was followed by a lengthy, six-year legal battle.
The development will comprise one- and two-bed apartments built in three blocks ranging in height from three to six storeys. The site will also include a childcare facility. O'Flynn Construction lodged plans for the current application in June for 157 apartments and submitted revised plans in September, reducing this number to 153 following concerns about daylight and sunlight.
O'Flynn Construction Company first received planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála in 2020 for 123 one- and two-bedroom apartments and a crèche on the Old Fort Road before it was challenged in the High Court by a local residents group.
The court overturned the planning commission's decision after finding that it failed to comply with planning and development regulations concerning the screening of projects.
The Supreme Court then reversed this decision in a direct appeal from An Coimisiún Pleanála. It was then referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which ultimately ruled in favour of O'Flynn Group.
Following the long-running legal battle, the O'Flynn Group lodged a new application for the 123-apartment development, as the original 2020 bid was set to expire.
However, in May 2025, the planning commission rejected the same development it had supported in 2020, citing issues with the development's dwelling-size mix which "materially contravened" the Cork City Development Plan.
Cork City Council updated its development plan in 2022 while the case was in the courts, with the new plan requiring a certain proportion of one-, two-, three- and four-bed units for an urban town development.
The commission said the plans lodged by O'Flynn Construction Company, which were filed before the development plan was updated, did not include the new requirements for three- and four-bedroom units.
The current application is comprised of an almost 50:50 ratio of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Planners in Cork City Council this week granted permission for the development subject to 37 conditions, including a restriction on reserved parking spaces for any units.
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