Planners lodge application for 600-plus homes at former CMP Dairy site in Cork

The site is a 3.39-hectare brownfield location lying between Cork Airport and the city centre, at the junction of Tramore Road and Kinsale Road.

Largely idle since the CMP dairy closed in 2006, the site was rezoned to “residential, local services and institutional uses” by Cork city council in 2019 which would facilitate the proposed development.

The strategic housing development has now reached the application stage and will consist of 561 apartments and 48 townhouses, along with a community hub facility, a gym, a retail unit and a café.

The housing will be split across 189 one-bed, 338 two-bed, 48 three-bed and 34 four-bed dwellings. Furthermore, 257 of these will be build-to-rent apartments.

It means that over half (55%) will be two-bed dwellings with just under a third (31%) being one-bed.

Planners said that Cork city is “significantly underperforming in the provision of apartments” and that this development “addresses the distinct market need for smaller dwellings in Cork city”.

“The proposed development has been designed to be inclusive of all age groups and mobility levels,” they said.

“It is envisaged that a sustainable, diverse community can be realised on-site, supported by existing and proposed facilities and services on-site and in the local area.”

The scheme would also incorporate 209 shared car parking spaces, along with electric vehicle charging points, 1,145 bicycle spaces and 21 motorcycle spaces.

Furthermore, it is also intended for the primary care centre to be built on the site at a future stage. A planning application for that would be separate from this process.

A meeting in October involving An Bord Pleanála, planners for the development and Cork City Council, the council said it was committed to seeing this primary care centre realised.

The council added that while it was welcomed to see a development planned for the site, a potential occupancy of 2,000 people raised a concern in terms of density and layout of the site.

After submitting a consultation for its strategic housing development, planners were given a number of issues by An Bord Pleanála that must be addressed in their application.

Chief among them is the delivery of pedestrian and cycle links from the proposed development to the closest bus stop and Black Ash Park and Ride.

The planning board wanted to be provided with a housing quality assessment, a traffic and transport assessment and details of a green infrastructure plan.

It also sought further justification for the height strategy outlined by the planners and how it integrates with the wider area and density.

Planners said that it going from their original proposals of 706 dwellings to 609 dwellings, it reduced the density and “significantly reduced” heights at the southern end of the site.

“While the proposed development is located in a suburban area of Cork city, its immediate surrounding environment is not currently residential, with the nearest houses being approximately 170m from the site,” they said.

“Therefore, the redevelopment of the site presents an opportunity for significant transformation of the immediate area for positive residential development.”

An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision in this case by 16 June 2022.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for Watfore Ltd said the project is expected to create over 500 jobs during construction and support at least 200 jobs once complete.

The spokesperson said: "The vision for Creamfields is that it will breathe a new lease of life into the area and become a catalyst for a wider development of a significant new city centre precinct.

"The layout and design of the development allows for easy and safe connectivity to Cork Airport, Tramore Valley Park and will also be within 15 minutes of the city centre by public transport."