An Bord Pleanála gives go ahead for 600 homes in Cork

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to a private developer for over 600 houses and apartments in Co Cork.

The development in Glanmire, by O'Flynn Construction, is the largest to get approval under new planning legislation designed to speed up the planning process. The application was first made in December 2017.

Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the decision to grant permission under the Strategic Housing Development scheme was a vindication of the council's approach.

The scheme was set up by the Government as part of its Rebuilding Ireland plan to allow developers of more than 100 units to apply for planning in a process designed to fast track a decision.

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Mr Lucey said the O'Flynn Construction project, at Ballinglanna in Glanmire, was the first to be granted nationally under the SHD process in conjunction with the Government's Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) which provides funding for supporting infrastructure.

The Government has committed €5.9 million to Cork County Council under the LIHAF to provide for strategic infrastructure works comprising road improvements and a sustainable transport package to allow the Ballinglanna project to go ahead, he said.

“This positive decision by An Bord Pleanála reinforces the capacity of Cork County Council in guiding large scale complex planning applications through the development management process and in this case, through the Strategic Housing Development process with An Bord Pleanála,” he said.

Endorsement

“It is a clear endorsement of the Council’s management and professional approach to engagement with all necessary stakeholders and state agencies in bringing major developments in the Metropolitan Cork region to fruition,” he added.

Mr Lucey said the decision was particularly welcome in light of the fact that, to date, some developments of a similar nature in other parts of the country have failed to get approval from the planning board through the SHD process.

O’Flynn Construction had applied for planning for the project under the SHD process in December 2017 for 608 residential units, comprising 112 apartments in three-to-five storey blocks and 496 two, three and four-bedroom houses in terraced, semi-detached and detached formats.

The plan for the 31.5 hectare site at Ballinglanna to the east of Glanmire village also involves the building of a crèche, retail units and a community centre/sports hall along with play areas and amenity walkways as well as the provision of a 1.2-hectare site for a 16-classroom national school.

However, a local residents’ association had expressed concerns that the local infrastructure was insufficient to cater for the additional traffic generated and predicted that motorists would use an adjacent estate as “a rat run” to avoid traffic congestion if the project went ahead.