Developments in Cork

Although I’m a fan of high-rise and associated stuff, that City Library proposal is so out of touch with the surrounding buildings that its ridiculous.

Here’s an older image of Frinailla’s plans for their own site on Grand Parade. Not sure if this ever got planning. But it was prior to the Library site being joined up with it.

I passed through Grand Parade this morning. Scaffolding is going up on no. 50. This is the once beautiful Georgian building, the ground floor of which is currently being used as an entrance to a car park. Presumably the scaffolding is there for some sort of remedial work, as I don;t see anything happening on that site for a while yet. Its owned by Paul Kenny (Kenny Group), but rumour had it that it was up for sale a few years back. Anybody ahve more details?

Permission was granted (on appeal) for the Grand Parade site in 2000 for 35 apartments, a 22 bedroom hotel, restaurants, 141 car spaces, offices and retail. With the facade at number 50 being retained. Plans were withdrawn in 2003 to build residential student accomodation and a hotel on the site.

In my view, the fact that CCC facilitated the current misuse of the site by providing a roadway through the new footpath on Grand Parade is a disgrace.

No. 50 is the red brick building on the right of picture. The windows have not been boarded up for a number of years and the once beautiful interior has been open to the elements.

what’s happening with this?

taken from OMP site

@d_d_dallas wrote:

what’s happening with this?

taken from OMP site

this is precinct investment plans for the metropole, think the tower was reduced, was approved in Dec 05 but developers appealed the amt of development contributions to Bord pleanala, saved themselves about 80k i think, that took until June last year, no word since

Any hope that the Greens will remember their Light rail plan that they made prior to getting into ‘power’?

@PTB wrote:

Any hope that the Greens will remember their Light rail plan that they made prior to getting into ‘power’?

i’d say it will be “remembered” as much as fianna fails promise to conduct a light rail feasibility study for Cork

The glass bit on the left really fits in, doesnt it…. gah

I know its not stricly about developments in the city (more the use we put them to) but am I the only person very frustrated at the City Council’s record on

a) organising, and
b) publicising

City Centre events?

By way of example of the former, Limerick City council has garnered lots of (badly needed) publicity for that city by putting up big screens last year for the European rugby final and this year for the All Ireland hurling final. Thousands attended and thus the city centre got a more tangible financial benefit also (not to mention that the populace, whom a city centre should serve, were delighted with the set up). For a city that can virtually set its watch by its regular appearance in (of not results of!) such finals, it beggars belief that we in Cork don’t offer our populace a similar facility. Indeed this is all the more galling as the necessary big screens and crowd control barriers would have to put up the day after the match anyway for the traditional homecoming. Nor is this idle speculation. When Cork were going for the hurling 3-in-a-row last year I e-mailed lots of addresses in the City Council (I got the addresses off their website) urging such a set up. In fairness the Lord Mayor and two individuals (an events manager was one I think) replied saying what a great idea it was, how they had to hire the big screens for 3 days anyway so there was no extra cost, etc, etc. Of course the day came and went without anybody doing anything more and that seems to me to be typical.

What frustrates me even more is that when the Council does pull the finger out and does organise anything (ie. city marathon, ceili mor, ocean to city race, European car free events, etc) there is virtually no publicity for same which in turn means they risk being flops (or at a minimum are not the huge successes they should be). Indeed I suspect the lack of turn out at some such events (which itself is entirely the by product of City Council laziness) is used by some in the same City Council to justify not putting on further such events as “nobody bothers to go to them like”.

By way of illustration, for the ceili mor event earlier this month, I am told there were loads of stalls in town on the sunday but there was no one at them – largely because no one knew they were there! Similarly there was a huge crowd on Patrick’s St at the marathon last June but speaking to many of the crowd there they just happened upon it and had never heard it was on! In fact for the city marathon they had 1,600 running the full course but over half of these were last minute entrants. The City Council couldn’t figure out why – could it be that no one knew about it? I ran in it and from the blank expressions I got in the weeks running up to it when I mentioned the race to people thats what I would put my money on.

In short, my sense is that within City Council there are people now thinking properly about how to use civic spaces (hence all the new events) but they are totally let down by the publicity arm (is there such a thing?) of City Hall. There is no point putting on an event if you don’t tell anyone about it. Moreover the City Coucil still lacks the drive to set up really large, all inclusive, Civic events to showcase the city as evidenced by the big screen example above and even more so by the shameful decision last year to hold the Freedom of the City event for Roy Keane and Sonia O’Sullivan behind close doors.

Any thoughts?

Anybody who didn’t know the (very well organised) Cork City Marathon wasn’t going on needs more help than the City Council can give them!![/QUOTE]

I agree in general with your post but specifically re the marathon, while it was indeed superbly organised, I do think the publicity was poor. As I said, I ran in it and I remember that when seeking sponsorship the week before it less than half the people I encountered knew it was on. Moreover most of them had only just heard of it. If you want a big field in a marathon you need big publicity months in advance as you can’t just turn up on the day and give it a lash. I know its much bigger, but the Dublin marathon in October is widely publicised from March onwards every year.