How a bridge put the brakes on plans for 1,300 Cork City apartments
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Alarm bells should be ringing at the highest levels of Government if it is serious about balanced regional development and solving the housing crisis after poor road infrastructure put the brakes on one of the single largest residential schemes ever proposed in Cork City.
On one level, it is a story about how, in the teeth of a housing crisis, there is a potential decade-long delay in the delivery over 1,300 city apartments earmarked for Cork’s docklands.
On another level, it is a story about how inadequate infrastructure has stalled progress on what is described as Ireland’s largest and most ambitious brownfield regeneration project — a vital piece of the jigsaw to ensure Cork becomes an economic and residential counterweight to development around Dublin.
The issue has been thrown into sharp focus following the decision by An Bord Pleanála before Christmas to refuse planning to Goulding Fertiliser for the construction of an agricultural fertiliser facility and additional port operational use of the jetty at Marino Point near Belvelly, on Great Island, Cobh.
Goulding, which has been based on Centre Park Rd in the city’s south docks since the 1970s, was hoping that a green light for its proposed development at Marino Point would allow it to relocate its city centre activities to Marino — thus freeing up its Centre Park Rd site for residential development.
Development firm O’Callaghan Properties (OCP), which has started work on its €350m Kennedy Quay project in the south docks, secured planning from Cork City Council last year for its near €600m 1,325-residential unit scheme on the Goulding site pending a positive planning decision on Goulding’s Marino Point project.
So large was O’Callaghan Properties's plan for the Goulding site that it alone was responsible for a spike in residential units granted planning in the city in the third quarter of 2023.
Cork County Council, which granted conditional planning to Goulding’s Marino Point project, acknowledged the strategic national importance of facilitating the relocation of port-related activities out of Cork City’s docklands.
A report on the planning file says: “At a strategic planning level, the relocation of Gouldings from the city is critical to realising significant development objectives in the city, as the use is a SEVESO activity.
"In terms of the Regional Spatial Strategy and National Planning Framework (NPF), this is therefore a highly significant development proposal.
“The County Development Plan expresses the council’s commitment to relocating port facilities to Marino Point [and Ringaskiddy].
“Furthermore, this is a brownfield site whose redevelopment is consistent with sustainable development objectives. The principle of the development is therefore supported at all levels of the planning system.”
However, when it came to the appeal, An Bord Pleanála inspector expressed concerns about the intensification of heavy goods vehicles using the proposed Marino Point facility and the significant adverse impacts on the traffic and transportation network in the locality.
“The proposed development is for a fertiliser facility that is entirely reliant on a road network for its distribution of outputs, yet entails the relocation of such freight activities from Cork docklands area — which has reasonable access to the national road network — to a location at Marino Point which has poor road connectivity, and the development of which is identified as being subject to significant road improvements in the Cork County Development Plan 2022-2028,” she said.
She accepted that there is a need to move port-related and industrial type activities from zoned residential areas in the city and expand at other locations within Cork Harbour.
However, she said that despite the fact that a rail line crosses the Marino Point site, the Goulding proposal has no opportunities to make use of this rail resource for rail-based freight distribution.
The nature of heavy vehicles required for distribution would adversely impact on the carrying capacity of the R624 road serving Cobh and its hinterland and, in particular, the carrying capacity of Belvelly Bridge which is restricted in its alignment, and the only road access on and off Great Island, she said.
“Furthermore, notwithstanding the road works and measures to improve the carriageway and signage along the R624, the board is not satisfied that these are proportionate to the nature of traffic likely to be generated, and that the proposed development would not exacerbate traffic congestion at Belvelly Bridge and be prejudicial to public safety by reason of traffic hazard,” she said.
“It is accordingly considered that the proposed development of such a road dependent facility would be premature pending significant road improvements and would be contrary to the provisions of the Cork County Development Plan 2022-2028.”
She pointed to specific objectives in the county development plan for the area which say that port facilities at Marino Point should have appropriate road transport capacity and also set out the need to upgrade the R624 and its designation to national road status, while also recognising that Marino Point can provide an alternative to Ringaskiddy for port-related uses that could be best served by rail transport.
“It is therefore considered that the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” she said.
All understandable for anyone who uses the R624 and, especially, Belvelly Bridge on a daily basis — the only road access to and from Cobh and Great Island. A crash either side of the bridge can effectively shut off access to the island for hours.
A technical report on the council’s planning file shows that there are four locations along the route where heavy vehicles are shown to be within just 300mm when passing and, at six locations, heavy vehicles are within 400mm when passing — including at the bridge, where they cannot pass without yielding.
It is especially frustrating for Cobh Chamber, which has been actively highlighting the need for the redevelopment of the R624 for over 50 years, and which has highlighted the fact that — because it is classed as a regional road — its management is the responsibility of Cork County Council and not Transport Infrastructure Ireland.
“The recent An Bord Pleanála decision further underscores the urgent need for investment in infrastructure to support both commercial and residential development, which is crucial to our community’s growth, safety and sustainability,” it said.
“The R624, as the sole access road to the area, needs to be upgraded to a national road and to come under the Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s remit.
“We urgently call on public representatives and Cork County Council to prioritise this issue and work collaboratively to achieve this. The Cobh and Harbour Chamber remains committed to engaging with stakeholders on behalf of our region.”
Cork County Council has a plan, the Great Island Connectivity Scheme, to upgrade the R624 from its junction with the main N25 to Belvelly, but that could take a decade and could cost €100m to deliver.
That scheme is only at the beginning of its long and complicated journey through the State’s complex transport projects approvals process.
All big transport schemes proposed by local authorities must comply with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines (formerly the Public Spending Code) and the department's transport appraisal framework (TAF). The framework has seven stages:
- Stage 1 is the proposal initiation, or programme outline document (POD);
- Stage 2, the first of three ‘approval gates’, involves a strategic assessment and a preliminary business case report;
- Stage 3, the second ‘approval gate’, involves pre-tender approval, a detailed business case and a procurement strategy;
- Stage 4, the third 'approval gate', involves getting approval to proceed to the final business case and the various statutory processes, effectively seeking planning permission;
- Stage 5 involves implementing what is known as monitoring reports;
- Stage 6 is a project completion report;
- and Stage 7 is an ex-post evaluation report.
Cork County Council has produced at least four reports on the project since 2019, but has not been funded to move beyond the second stage of that seven-stage process.
“Cork County Council submitted an initial project appraisal to the department in 2019 regarding the upgrade of the R624 Cobh Road,” a spokesperson said.
“The project, as submitted, includes upgrading the existing N25-R624 interchange, the provision of a dual carriageway from the interchange to Marino Point, widening of Slatty Bridge, the provision of a new bridge crossing to Great Island at Belvelly, and upgrading the existing R624 from Marino Point to Cobh.
“In line with government requirements, Cork County Council also produced a strategic assessment report for the Great Island Connectivity Scheme and a draft was forwarded to the department in November 2022.
“Since then, both the Public Spending Code and the TAF guidance have been updated. The department liaised with the council regarding new requirements under the new infrastructure guidelines and the TAF, including the preparation of a project outline document and business case incorporating the work already undertaken at the SAR stage.”
The has established that the document was submitted to the department in March 2024 and the council has started work on developing a brief for the appointment of consultants to deliver the scheme, from assessing route options, design and planning (stages two, three, and four), starting with the commencement of a preliminary business case.
“The council have completed stage one and intend to commence the procurement for technical advisors in the first quarter of 2025 for the preliminary business case stage two (subject to funding).”
However, it said the Department of Transport allocated just €150,000 to the council to advance the Great Island Connectivity Scheme in 2024.
“It is imperative that further funding is allocated by the Department of Transport in 2025 to allow the project to be advanced,” the council said.
There’s a lot at stake. Obviously, it would improve access to and from Great Island — but it would also help unlock the potential of Cork’s docklands.
The population of the Cork City region is expected to grow by 50% in the years to 2040.
At 147 hectares, the Cork docklands — spanning the north and south docklands from the Lower Glanmire Rd to Blackrock Marina — has capacity to provide homes for 22,500 residents and sustain up to 25,000 jobs in a location where all amenities and services are easily accessible and car dependency is greatly reduced.
Almost €500m has already been allocated to fund infrastructure in and around the docklands area itself to help unlock its potential, with live planning applications for almost 3,000 residential units in place, and work underway on several more, including on Kennedy Quay and on the former Live at the Marquee site.
But for docklands to fully work, several existing uses — like Goulding — have to be relocated.
CSO data shows the city centre experienced relatively strong population growth of 14% between 2016 and 2022.
With ongoing regeneration planned for brownfield sites and increasing re-use of existing building stock, there is potential for a significant increase to the city centre population to 2040 — demonstrating the importance of delivery within the city’s large-scale regeneration areas like docklands — in order to achieve the National Planning Framework growth targets.
Cork Chamber said the redevelopment of the city’s docklands is key to unlocking economic growth for Cork, ensuring that Cork delivers as a thriving second-city region and an economic hub for the South of Ireland.
“There is huge potential held in the docklands as a location for accommodation, healthcare, education, office, and hospitality spaces,” chamber chief executive Conor Healy said.
“But for the vision to become a reality in a reasonable timeframe, the delivery of critical supporting infrastructure must be prioritised.
“Key enablers include the completion of the M28 to Ringaskiddy and the urgently needed upgrade to the R624 Cobh Road which are essential to facilitating the Port of Cork’s relocation to the lower harbour and unlocking dockland sites for development.
“The R624 is a route of particular concern, and there is currently no funding allocated for the required upgrades in the National Development Plan.
“It is a route of strategic importance, for Cork City and county, and for our country.
“Through our election manifestos, pre-budget submissions, and input to the review of the National Planning Framework, we have strongly advocated for this route to be elevated in priority.
“Now, as we enter the phase of government formation, it is essential that it is included in the programme for Government and that all stakeholders are aligned on the strategic importance of this route.
“Delivering on this vital infrastructure is not just about supporting the docklands; it’s about ensuring Cork’s future as a driver of national economic growth.”
A spokesman for O’Callaghan Properties said the immediate impact of An Bord Pleanála's decision on Marino Point is to prevent the development of 1,325 apartments on Goulding’s city site, where the firm secured planning permission in 2023, and it also prevents the development of a further 500 apartments envisaged for the remaining portion of the Goulding site.
“The decision undermines the potential of Cork docklands to provide the quantum of housing units envisaged in the City Development Plan as the SEVESO designation of the Goulding site now effectively sterilises a significant portion of the available development land in the docklands,” he said.
“The contention in the board's decision that somehow rail might reduce the reliance on road transportation for the activities of Goulding is simply untenable given the logistical requirements to distribute to individual farms throughout the region.
“The issues referenced in the board's decision must be resolved if docklands is to be developed and its potential fully realised.
“The infrastructure deficit on which the board's decision has been based must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”