Council says Cork GAA plans would 'severely limit' ability to deliver public park
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A €100m redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh would "endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard", and "severely limit" Cork City Council's ability to deliver an "iconic" public park, the local authority has argued.
In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, Cork City Council has said the development was refused planning on several grounds, mainly that it would "contravene" the Cork City Development Plan, 2015-21, and the Cork Docklands Area-Based Transport Assessment.
As reported last month, the board of Páirc Uí Chaoimh has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála, challenging Cork City Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for redevelopment at its €100m stadium.
In its submission to An Bord Pleanála, the local authority said the plans would "severely limit" Cork City Council's ability to deliver a "large, iconic" public park, as set out in the Marina Park masterplan.
The proposals to develop the surface car park would have detrimental impacts on the delivery of Marina Park, which is supported in the city development plan and has been planned since at least 2013, the submission states.
"The value of the park as a recreational destination would significantly exceed the value of accommodating parked cars within the finite amount of space available to provide the park."
The proposed development would contravene the Cork City Development Plan, the submission argued.
"The private quantum of car parking provided by the stadium is 89 car spaces, which would accommodate conferences of over 500 delegates, which would be a large conference event," the submission says.
This is the maximum car-parking provision allowable under the draft Cork Docklands Area-Based Transport Assessment. "The additional, existing carrier parking would exceed maximum car-parking provision."
Similarly, the Cork City Development Plan, 2015-21, includes maximum car-parking standards. "The proposed development would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard, due to the serious pedestrian and vehicular conflict which it would generate on the pathway between the main stadium and the all-weather pitch," the submission says.
As this links "the eastern and western portions of Marina Park, [it] would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".
The proposed development would also "severely limit" Cork City Council's ability to deliver a large, iconic public park, it notes, by severing Marina Park 'phase one', which is now substantially complete, from the remainder of the park and ‘phase two’.
This last element was a key concern in City Hall's decision to refuse planning permission. The proposed car parking was also "within an area identified as flood storage". The board did not submit a flood-impact assessment as part of its application.