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This isn’t necessarily news related to Cork docklands, but in the context of government support it pisses me off that they’ve stalled so much in providing funding for the eastern gateway bridge while they will now be bailing out the Dublin Docklands Authority…
From http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1126/dda.html
The Dublin Docklands Authority has said it will need financial support from the Government to survive following the collapse of the property market.
Authority Chairperson Professor Niamh Brennan said the Authority had a deficit of €213m last year and that its position is clearly serious.
In its annual report the Dublin Docklands Development Authority referred to its stake in the the purchase of the Glass Bottle site at Ringsend, which has seen its value fall by 85%.
There was criticism of this deal at the time because the DDDA was acting as both the planning authority and developer in the deal.
Because Anglo Irish was funding the purchase while its chairman Sean Fitzpatrick was also a non-executive director of the Docklands Authority.
The High Court also found the Authority had acted outside its powers in another deal involving the construction of new headquarters for Anglo Irish bank on the quays.
Today Professor Brennan, who was appointed last March, said public confidence in the authority had been undermined but a review was underway to ensure the authority complies with corporate governance.
She said with financial assistance from the Government the authority can restore its mandate of redeveloping the docklands.
Rabble rabble rabble!
@lexington wrote:
🙂 On a far more positive note – for those interested in what the new Kino Cinema development for Washington Street is due to look like (planning pending – the decision is due on Thursday 14th of Oct 2004) – visit http://www.ddesign.ie/projects.htm -> then go to the 3rd button under the title ‘Community’ and click on Load Images.
I have to say, the development looks superb. Considering the space the new development is due on, it has been well utilised – it falls in line with the same height as other buildings neighbouring it (instead of the existing ground floor only) and brings a dynamic swing to an area undergoing exciting development.
Bad news for movie-goers in Cork as the Kino arthouse cinema is to be put up for sale immediately following the forthcoming Cork Film Festival.
Cork’s Kino arthouse cinema to close over debt to architects
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1028/1224257552324.htmlIt’s a while since I looked at the Docklands masterplan, south docks plan etc. I’m just wondering if the development of the docklands will be done on a site by site basis, with developers making designs to fill the boundaries of the site footprint available; or is there a greater vision for the area, apart from the bridges etc. Will there be new road/street alignments? Is there any measures requiring buildings to be set back from the river frontage?
Despite the current economic situation and the effects it will have on proposed developments proceeding, I still hold out some hope for a slow and gradual development of the entire docklands. I just hope that enough foresight is employed in developing this massive area of the city — once the major sites are developed there’s no changing the layout of the area.
Specifically I’d like to see that provisions are made for an abundance of public green/plaza space throughout the entire docklands, and particularly along the river banks. In this decade I’ve spent some time living in a few different cities with fantastic waterside amenities – Boston, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and currently Vancouver. Now I know Cork cannot be realistically compared to such cities as our population is so much smaller in comparison, but it does have similarities in possessing a wonderful natural public amenity (the Lee) in a prime central location. All of the cities I mentioned have an abundance of open and public space, gracefully integrated with the existing (‘historical’?) buildings and infrastructure as well as more modern, recent developments.
Top of my wishlist would be to see roads and streets kept as far back from the waterside as possible. Second would be a landmark tourist attraction, something that would become recognisable as a symbol of Cork over time. Something that if one saw it depicted on a postcard one would think “ah, that’s the Cork _____”
I wonder what could we come up with? A little more imaginative than the spire in Dublin I’d hope. An observation tower? An concert hall? A giant hurley?!
There would be so many benefits; Something ambitious and original could become recognisable internationally, boosting the city’s profile as a weekend break destination just by increasing awareness of its existence. It would also draw people to the docklands in the absence of anything else other than office/apartment buildings and a small retail offering.
As it stands, Cork city has very few real ‘attractions’. Tourists can go to see Shandon, St. Finbarr’s, the Gaol and the English market. If it’s the weekend even the museum is closed. After they’ve spent one morning seeing those city-based attractions, it’s into the rental car and off to Blarney, Kinsale, Cobh or often further afield. Marketing the city as weekend break destination relies too much on the food and drink offering and as proud as we are of what we have, it’s nothing remarkably different from many other places competing for the same tourist market.
My fear is that the docklands will be developed plot by plot over the next few decades, becoming just another bland, urbanised extension of the city, when we really need a radical, imaginative, creative vision for a new district in the city, placing an emphasis on recreation, public space and tourism. Alas nothing I’ve seen in recent years can convince me that (1) private developers have the ambition or interest in building something with a unique and innovative design, but go all out to maximise return on investment by plonking bland generic buildings over the entire footprint of a site, (2) city planners are brave enough to allow something out of the ordinary, and (3) the city manager and council have the balls/resources to take charge of the entire thing and see it through, rather than yield to pressure from developers because “anything is better than what’s there now.” We don’t want another Merchants Quay in the docklands!
Apologies for the extended rant.
Today’s echo has the headline ‘Cork Docklands event centre is to go ahead’; attached is a clip of the front page.
@SoundsDreamy wrote:
What kind of notice as I thought the CPO had been passed.
Has MAS even begun looking for another site? I’m sure Howard Holding would gladly part with old Cork City grounds in Bishopstown.Piece in the echo during the week mentioned plans to develop this site (old FAI pitch) with student apartments, some commercial (bank, shop) and business (‘science & technology’). Up to 4 stories. CSD spokesman said they’ll fight it of course.
De paper made mention of forthcoming works being undertaken by the council to upgrade a stretch of the Marina. Narrowing the carriageway and adding parking spaces, raising the level of the road surface by 1 meter to facilitate future developments in the docklands. It’s small, but it’s a step in the right direction.
@Pug wrote:
I’m not an engineer or developer but I dont think there is anything insurmountable there bar changing the mix to more residential, which might be tricky in current downturned market.
That works wonders for our city doesn’t it? In the absence of having anything resembling adequate public transport in and out of the city centre, we build large business parks on the edge of the city and loads of apartments in the city centre. Instead of creating demand and justifying a decent public transport system to bring workers and shoppers from suburban centres of population into the city, we try to encourage people to live in city centre apartments and commute out to semi-rural business parks.
Sure they could drain the Atlantic pond and build a multi storey on it, but better make sure the bridge is 20 lanes wide whenever it’s eventually built. It could even accommodate a spur off the Middleton monorail line.
@Peter FitzPatrick wrote:
Is that you playing devil’s advocate, or is that your view ! ?
I don’t agree either way … we can’t have a situation where the motorway to our second city returns to single carriageway for 16km ! All interurbans are to be finished by 2010 & as it stands are on or ahead of schedule, there can’t be any further slippage in the 2010 deadline, remember 2006 was the initial target !
I’ve seen the term ‘inter-urban’ mentioned here a few times. This is not in any way anti-Dublin sentiment, but it speaks volumes of the attitudes of our recent governments that the basic definition of ‘inter-urban’ is “roads to Dublin,” while any other routes connecting the major urban centres apart from the capital are pushed down the agenda indefinitely. What does this say about their attitude towards decentralisation, the national spatial strategy etc? Were all these expensive studies just a complete and utter waste of time, money and resources?
I got a good laugh from this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kieranhynes/909952057/
@panda wrote:
Its an absolute sickner what has happened to Cork Airport in the last year, the board of directors should log on to Ryanair.com and check out Shannons list of destinitions compared to Cork. This year we have to include Cargo flights on Arrivals to make up the blank spaces. Yes the old terminal was smelly and dated but now we are so expensive in our ivory tower that low cost carriers dont bother using the airport.Easy Jet ,BMi and Czech all gone. Aer lingus are back to there old ways at screwing pas during peak times while cutting daily London Flights since last year. What is to happen to the old terminal why not as Ryanair wanted make it there low cost base ,at present its ramp is only serving corporate jets which is great value to the people of Cork who are paying for there new termainal.
I agree with your general sentiment but just want to make a few factual observations on your post…
Cork has many scheduled and chartered destinations that Shannon does not have
Cargo flights are displayed on the screens due to integration of older legacy systems
Easyjet left because Ryanair bullied them out of it, and immediately after Easyjet left they cut their capacity on the Gatwick route. Now they are trying to bully Aer Arann off the Dublin route.
Of the other two airlines you mentioned… CSA aren’t low cost, and BMi had only a limited presence, BMI Baby are still operating Birmingham and Manchester. Incidentally, when CSA started in Cork, the Prague route was the first proper Central/Eastern European route from Cork. When they left Aer Lingus had started flying to Prague, also Malev to Budapest, Wizzair and Centralwings to 5 cities in Poland. This really diluted CSA’s loads.
Aer Lingus often adjust schedules on the LHR route between winter and summer, but you may have noticed they actually offer increased capacity on some flights now, using a larger aircraft on lunchtime and other flights.
Ryanair wanting to use the old terminal is a very complex situation, suffice to say it’s neither likely, practical or economically possible at present. The old terminal needs substantial renovations to bring it up to standard, while the new one has excess capacity available. Ryanair have a subsidised marketing deal with Shannon, so they’re not going to go competing with themselves out of the nearest airport. All the talk is just to piss off the DAA people. Also, terminal capacity in Cork isn’t the main problem. There isn’t enough parking space for aircraft still, resulting in corporate jets being turned away on occasions. The capital expenditure needed for these works is still dependent on the DAA (the owners) and there’s fat chance of that coming through while the current situation prevails.@PVC King wrote:
Che Breanan announced the establishment of the DAA as a brave new dawn and a watershed where things would actually happen:
Fast forward almost 4 years later what exactly has changed for the passenger?
http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/5550-0.pdf
O’Leary is one airline operator the platform is the real problem
No rail link Irish rail could have had this built if their 2004 Dublin Rail plan was implemented
No new terminal
No second runway
Nada
Zilch
Nothing
Sorry a portacabin walkway half a mile long
Which is more than Cork gets! Passengers in Cork would no doubt be delighted with portacabins instead of a similar walk out on the tarmac in the rain.
I agree though, the current mess is no better than the old days.
Oh and by the way, consider this difference:
Property developer redevelops entire large city site with completely new buildings. Can build right out to site edge, encroaching on public footpaths etc.
Home owner in county Cork wishes to rebuild ageing gateway / part of boundary wall. Planning rules dictate that a new boundary wall must be set back a prescribed distance from the road, effectively making the land owner forfeit a strip of roadside land to the council.
Why don’t planning regulations like these apply to city developments?
@pleanala wrote:
I think the idea of the Bus Tram is not necccessarily that they would replicate trams in terms of overhead lines but rather that they would differ from standard buses as they would run on independent tracks away from Road Transport an also that they might be electric and thus have less of an environmental impact compared to a Diesel bus??
I doubt it very much. Our city and suburbs are old, the streets are narrow and development has taken place in a piecemeal fashion over the centuries. There is very little spare land available that could be used as a dedicated bus/tram track. I think the only realistic option for most routes is to use on street busses or trams, with perhaps the chance to run small sections on dedicated off street tracks/pathways where the land allows.
Our city coucil haven’t done much to help this cause though. Take one of the worst blackspots for evening rush-hour traffic — The stretch of road between Dennehys cross and the junction at the AIB on western rd. Some of the busiest busses in the city regularly get stuck in traffic here, along with thousands of stressed drivers. In the docklands plan available on the council’s website since years ago, there is a proposed light rail or guided bus coridoor from Mahon – Atlantic Pond – City Centre – Western Rd – Vic X – CIT. The logical thing would be to set aside land along this coridoor as it becomes available in case it is needed when such a bus/tram track is to be built.
But no, along this single stretch of road almost all the land on the south side and some on the north has been redeveloped in the few years since this docklands plan was published. Victoria Mills for example is built right out to the edge of the site, almost touching the wall of the bridge. The new hideous brown-brick apartments next to it are similarly built right out to the already too narrow public footpath. Even if the funds were made available to provide a light rail or segregated bus track in this area, there is now no room left for this. Even the existing 4 lane road is too narrow, the pedestrian and cyclist provisions are woeful, and there is no room for a bus lane, bus stop or tram stop.
I really wish that someone in the council could have seen the potential before all this land was developed, to reservce a strip of roadside land from the clinic to Dennehys cross and prevent any development on it. Then we could have busses that cruise from Gaol Cross to Dennehys cross in a dedicated lane, rather than getting stuck in traffic for 20 mins.
Too much ranting lately. Must go do something more productive!
@Angry Rebel wrote:
…..and they can use the improved commuter facilities and new stations on mainline rail. Why waste money duplicating…?
The new train station in Blarney will be on the site of the old one on Station Road. This will be surrounded by new developments of housing in future years.
But, as a native of Blarney, most of the existing population live in the village (over a mile) or in the Tower area (over 2 miles, probably three).
Take two possible scenarios:
1. Commuter: Blarney resident travelling to work/college in Cork. Driving at rush hour still only takes 30-40 mins to city centre, UCC, CIT. Alternative would be to slog up station Rd by foot (20 mins min) or car (5 mins), take train to Kent station (20 mins including wait time), then get from Kent station to wherever they’re going – 10/15 mins city centre, 30 mins UCC, 40 mins CUH, 45 mins CIT.
2. Tourist: Most tourists visiting Blarney currently arrive by coach or in a rental car. If we assume public transport is used by those staying in the city, the current main option is to take the bus from the city centre (bus station or Lavitts quay), which takes 20 mins, stops in the middle of Blarney village (and at a few other stops near major housing) and costs around 6 euro return (not sure of this, correct me if I’m wrong).
Taking the train would involve walking or getting a bus to Kent station (15 mins from city centre, 25 mins from Jurys, western rd B&Bs etc), taking train to Blarney (20 mins), then making their way from station to village/castle – a half hour walk unless some kind of shuttle bus was operating.I know there are ways to make it work better but I just can’t see any of the existing population using the service from the proposed location unless the park & ride is free or they happen to be working within a 5 minute walk of Kent station (which is unlikely if the docklands is developed as mid-density residential).
The Muskerry rail line closed in the 30s I think, the station was located in the heart of Blarney village, beside the current entry to Blarney castle. The old station is now a gift shop beside the former post office. The train was infamously slow, and ran via Donoughmore and Coachford I think. Never the less, 70 years ago one could take a train from the centre of Blarney village to the site where Jurys Hotel now stands on Western Rd, 5 mins from the city centre and UCC.
I’m not advocating the reopening of this exact line, but I would suggest the following as a possible alternative or complement to the proposed new Blarney commuter station:
Light rail/tram, with the following route and stations:
City terminus: Emmet Place or Leitrim St
— Hegarty (or is it Howard?) or Ladys Well brewery could potentially sell up their sites to make way for a much larger commuter rail hub.
Stops at:
Ladys Well
Leitrim St
Watercourse Rd (Blackpool village)
Blackpool Shopping Centre
Commons Rd / Parklands
Killeens?
Blarney East (close to BFS, school, shops, station rd)
Blarney Centre (servicing village centre, castle, hotels etc)
TowerHere’s just a few possibilities:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.918862,-8.516464&spn=0.082372,0.2314&t=h&z=12&om=1&msid=100307207241949948570.0000011288ee7249cfd7b@bosco wrote:
What is that material used for the exterior of the school of music – like fake beige marble tiles? Just noticed it seems to be popular among new developments – Lavitts quay and Cork Airport terminal & fire station among other recently completed developments with the same cladding.
Add to that list the Gate cinema development on Bachelors Quay. Anyone have the name of the material for me?
Just to illustrate…
And more madness: http://www.headrambles.com/2006/11/13/get-on-yer-bike-bertie/
Ah kite, sure haven’t we x number of kilometres of green routes that our representatives can rattle off at any public occasion where facts on public transport are required? Shame these include utter follies such as the lovely cycle lane painted onto the hard shoulder on the airport road and in other places. Probably cost a 5 figure sum and took a few weeks labour, but now the hundreds of air travellers biking their way up the airport hill will know to stick to the left hand side and not cycle in the overtaking lane! Insanity.
