Former textile factory in Youghal to be demolished in housing plan
Detached Strand, Houses Demolish Former Homes At 7 Seafield Construction To Youghal, Upper Build Semi The Intends 26 And Terraced Redbarn Plant Ltd To Textiles
A derelict former textile factory in east Cork is to be demolished to make way for housing under a planning application lodged with Cork County Council.
Redbarn Construction Ltd intends to demolish the former Seafield Textiles plant at Upper Strand, Youghal, to build 26 semi-detached homes and 7 terraced houses.
The textile plant closed in 2005 and has been a source of frustration for residents who have complained of anti-social behaviour around the site. There have been at least six fires in the main building of the plant over the last decade.
The planned housing application also includes provisions to convert a derelict gatekeeper’s cottage by the main entrance to a café.
The housing units represent phase one of a two-phase scheme for the six-acre site close to the proposed Midleton-Youghal walking and cycling greenway, which is currently under construction.
“Phase 2 will include a mix of commercial and residential units, with a focus on elderly appropriate housing, which research confirms is in significantly short supply," according to Redbarn Group construction director Nick Eagle.
“Phase 2 will also include plans to repurpose and restore the factory’s art deco section, which will help to invigorate this part of Youghal”, he adds.
“We hope to submit phase 2 planning next April”.
The Seafield building was commissioned in 1946 by Cork industrialist William Dwyer.
Under Dwyer’s son-in-law Richard Lord, at its height, it operated 200 looms and gave employment to over 400 people as textiles thrived nationally and locally and Youghal boasted full employment.
The factory closed in 2005 and the building, with an asbestos roof, deteriorated rapidly and became a focus of anti-social behaviour.
Nonetheless, construction supplier company Tegral Ltd awarded it ‘building of the month’ in May 2020, while praising the “rare example of classic art-deco design”.
The plant’s entrance is distinguished by a Séamus Murphy relief limestone carving depicting a woman working a loom amidst spools of thread.
It is understood that this feature will be preserved either on-site or elsewhere in the town.
The new acquisition is the latest in a series of investments in Youghal by the company in recent times, following its 2019 acquisition of the former Loreto Convent on Lighthouse Hill, which is earmarked for gated luxury apartments.
The company also bought and restored the town’s iconic Regal cinema and has housing projects on the drawing board for Lismore, Borris-in-Ossory, and Naas.
Chairman of Youghal Business Alliance Ger Flanagan says the development “will remove an unsightly building while also providing much-needed homes and business opportunities”.
The planning application is expected to be decided by February 8.
Planning permission for a retail development on the site was rejected by An Bord Pleanála in 2014 and the site has lain derelict ever since.