Developer O’Flynn Group will challenge a decision to refuse it planning permission to build 1,150 homes on a site zoned for housing, its chief executive Michael O’Flynn said on Thursday.
Cork City Council refused the group planning permission for new homes and a neighbourhood centre at Maglin, close to a proposed tram line connecting the city’s south-western suburbs with the centre.
Branding the ruling “disappointing and incomprehensible”, O’Flynn pledged that the group would submit a “robust appeal” to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
“These lands have been zoned for residential development since 2011 and are designated as an urban expansion area in the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028,” O’Flynn pointed out.
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The group originally sought planning in 2020, ultimately going through the specialised Large-scale Residential Development application process, he said.
The Maglin site, between Curraheen and Ballincollig, is a short walk from the proposed Cork Luas tram line.
O’Flynn argued that his group committed in its application to improving roads in the area and providing a key part of the council’s proposed “sustainable access corridor”, which is aimed at cyclists and public transport and is central to developing the area for new homes.
Planners refused permission on the grounds that the roads there were substandard, the application was premature in the absence of the transport corridor and the scheme would leave residents dependent on cars.
O’Flynn maintained that the council had given permission to other nearby developments that also faced these challenges.
It is “unacceptable” during a housing crisis for planners to refuse a residential scheme of this scale on zoned land close to the proposed tram, and where a developer is funding infrastructure, he said.
Cork City Council’s ruling states that the Maglin plan would contravene several zoning objectives, including those governing new residential neighbourhoods, in its development plan.
Planners also maintain that it would have a “significantly negative impact” on amenities for existing residents and those that are likely to live in the new scheme.
“The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the council says.
