Radioactiveman
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@malec wrote:
There are some developments going up which I haven’t a clue about and haven’t been able to find any renders. Could someone post them if they have any?
The first set of pictures is the new Breastcheck facility at the end of the South Terrace, Long overdue.
Not sure what this is, but I reckon it may be student accom, associated with St. Johns College at rear of the site.
There are serious issues here. I believe, CCC have stopped the developers from continuing with their much altered plans, but someone may be able to clarify this further.
Watch out for this one. Expect a spectacular planning application within the next month or so. The quay roadway is to be widened by CCC and the rest of the site is in the hands of private developers…again, expect big plans soon. Also, refer to the post immediatly previous (by Kite) which, I believe is referring to part of this site
I’ve put some details about the above pictured developments in the quote above.
Ellesmere Properties (O’Callaghan Properties) have been granted permission for their development at Half Moon St., Lavitts Quay, Paul Street, Paul’s Lane.
It’s a four storey over basement develolment, of retail and office use.
It will involve the complete demolition of the Matthew Centre, despite the building being a ‘proposed protected structure’. It will retain no. 16 lavitts Quay which is protected. The approximate site has previously gained permission for office use (Examiner Publications) and as a hotel.The redevelopment of this site is to be welcomed. However, a number of points:
1. What is the point in protecting buildings (or propose them to be protected) when the same organisation (CCC) allows them to be demolished.
2. The City Council recently passed Variation no. 3 (Cork City Views and Prospects) to the City Development Plan. One of the buildings, views of which are protected by this variation, is of course Shandon. This development will “completely eliminate” the fantastic view of Shandon from Academy Street/Patrick Street – one of the few views of Shandon left from Patrick Street. The developers argue (and the council seem to agree) that this is acceptable, given that if a previous planning permission had been implemented (permitted prior to this change in the plan) the view would also have been lost. “It would be unreasonable to insist on the current application to reverse the decision already taken in 2004.” A ridiculous argument!
I predict an appeal to ABP on this very matter. The permission is clearly in breach of the development plan.
FYI,
Christian Brothers School on Sullivan’s Quay is for sale. It closed last year.
Should be prime redevelopment site, although it’s unlikely planners will allow the demolition of the buildings on site.
Good location next to South Gate Bridge and across the river from some massive redevelopment sites at the Central Library and the “Citi-Park”.
A report on the potential merger of two Cork City hospitals is due within the next two weeks. Mercy and South Infirmary hospitals are considering merging on a new “greenfield” site to allow development of both hospitals and to free up their valuable City Centre sites. Greenfield sites at Blarney and Sarsfield Court are being mentioned, as well as a “brownfield” site at the docklands. One has to wonder about the value of a hospital which is remote from the bulk of population.
Honestly ladies and gentlemen, I nearly fell over when I saw them!!
The long awaited bollards/lighting features for Oliver Plunkett have been installed (or most of them at least). Long term readers of this blog will know that it’s been a regular bug bear of mine and others.
They are now mostly installed, although they are not functioning yet (as lights that is, their function as a bollard requires no electricity!). They are basically stainless steel rectangular bollards, around 1.5 metre high with an inbuilt four-sided light at the top. Apparently the lights can be controlled to have different lighting colours/effects. It’ll be good to see them working…eventually for Christmas shopping.Anyway, if you’re around town, go and have a look at them. They’re grand, but hardly worth the wait.
@O.Pinto wrote:
….The other issue I think needs to be addressed, nationally as opposed to just Cork, is the proliferation of radiant heat lamps – there is a certain irony in cafe selling oganic products, proporting to be “green” and then trying to heat the entire world with wall mounted heaters! I know they are installed for peoples’ comfort, but do we really need them?
The issue of these ridiculous contraptions must be solved immediately. They are attempting to heat fresh air out in the open. A totally uneconomical and unethical approach with no thought for energy conservation. Solely for the convenience of those who are too strung out on nicotine to get through a meal/drink without a cigarette. Put on a coat!!
Getting back to the architectural implications, we’ve all seen numerous examples of these heaters and parasols being attached to buildings without planning permission and without care for the visual effects.
I see AMICUS have moved into their new premises on Paul St. (the former Gingerbread House property).
CCC have just refused the owners permission to erect a canopy to the front elevation of this listed and protected building.
While I much prefer this lively, European style restaraunt culture to empty and lifeless streets around there; does anybody else think the level of outdoor seating in the area has reached saturation point?
At that location alone you’ve got Bully’s, the place opposite (the name escapes me) and now Amicus. The room for pedestrains here has now been reduced to approximately one metre.
I recall when the smoking ban first came in, The Newport really extracted the urine by positioning outdoor seating across the entirety of Paul Street!! Pedestrians had to detour through Rory Gallagher Place to avoid them.
French Church Street is also now a bit likea slalom. Weaving in and out of smoking diners. I’m waiting for someone to set up shop directly opposite another restaurant so pedestrians have to turn back when they come to the blockade and find another route!
Anybody else agree or am alone on this one?I notice the Examiner’s new printing facility in Mahon didn’t make the cut. Thats a pretty dodgy building!
On the contrary, I think for the scale of the project, it’s flying up.
Lots of steel gone up there in the last week or so. I’ll try to bring you update photos as soon as I can.Meanwhile, here’s some projections of the finished development which i’ve posted here before. Due for completion in Autumn 2007.
I should have posted this last week, but never got round to it:
O’Callaghan Properties are set to submit further information and revised plans for its much anticipated development at Academy Street/St.Patrick’s Street and Emmett Place.
A number of important/protected/listed buildings are within this development area. These include, the St. Patrick Street frontages, Parts of the Examiner Office, Le Chateau and buildings on Emmett Place.
The original development was designed to provide a mixed use, residential/commercial floor area of 33388 sq m, providing 19 large ‘comparison goods’ retail units and 91 apartments (17 x one bed; 54 x two bed; 15 three bed; 5 duplex). Two gyms were also to be included in the residential part of the development.
Faulkener’s lane was set to be widened and redeveloped as a public space, while Bowling Green Street was set to be largely ignored- used for service access, ESB substations, etc.The new information and revised plans include the following:
(a) reduction in apartment numbers from 91 to 68 (6 x one bed; 53 x two bed; 9 x three bed).
(b) overall height reduced by omitting dispropotionate upper floor areas. Curved feature roof facing onto Emmett Place, Academy Street also to be removed.
(c) Revised elevatiosn to all street frontages.
(d) St. Patrick’s Street frontage now due to include complete demolition of the former Ryan’s Pharmacy (now Cork City FC shop) and the construction of a new elevation to Patrick’s Street.
(e) Former Examiner Office entrance elements of 94-96 St.Patrick’s Street top be retained. (how much of the total facade of these buildings to be retained is unclear at present).
(f) Changes to apartment lobbies/ service entrances on Academy Street, Faulkners lane, Bowling Green St. to ensure maximum retail frontage.
(g) revised retail layout to ensure access from Bowling Green Street
(h) revised frontage at Academy Street to omit changes to no.s 1-6.original design images:
Some interesting planning developments::
Roche tackles “rogue developers”Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dick Roche T.D. announced today (17 Oct. 06) that he has signed a Commencement Order for a number of key measures contained in the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006.
As well as introducing a new strategic consent process for major infrastructure of national and public importance the Act also introduces a number of important changes relating to applications for planning permissions generally. The Minister emphasised the particular importance of Section 9 of the Act which will enable planning authorities to withhold planning permissions from rogue developers on the basis of past history of non-compliance, for instance, for not completing housing estates.
“Any such abuse of our planning code cannot be tolerated. In the past some rogue developers have been getting away with not doing their jobs. Until now planning authorities have been required to prove an applicant’s history of non-compliance with permissions or conditions of permissions before the High Court before they could act. However, good sense would suggest that the onus should be on the applicant to apply to the High Court to have such refusals annulled. That is the effect of this new ‘rogue developers clause’. In essence this measure reverses the burden of proof and should make it easier for local authorities to tackle bad developers.”
Other important provisions now commenced will enhance the powers of the Board to deal with appeals made primarily, or solely, with the intention of extracting money from the applicant. Minister Roche commented that “Occasional spurious and groundless appeals are an unfortunate feature of our system. They pervert our democratic processes and divert time and resources away from dealing with authentic and justified appeals. In this regard the powers of the Board have previously been insufficient, but I am confident that the new measures will redress that situation and ensure that the Board is suitably equipped to deal appropriately with appeals that are made primarily, or solely with the intention of extorting money from an applicant”.
Important provisions relating to the submission of documents to the Board in relation to planning appeals have also now been commenced. At present only the information provided by the applicant or generated by the planning authority must be sent on to the Board by the relevant planning authority. The Act now requires that all submissions should be forwarded to the Board to be taken into account and not just those received from prescribed bodies. This would mean that any person who makes a submission in relation to an application can be certain that that submission will also ultimately be considered by the Board if an appeal is made.Other Sections of the Act now commenced include those relating to;
· Conditions that can be imposed by a planning authority on a planning permission, including conditions requiring developers to maintain an existing amenity for the public;
· Referral of disputes in relation to compliance conditions to An Bord Pleanala;
· Enhanced participation for NGO’s in the planning process. The proposed change will mean that NGO’s that fulfil certain conditions need not prove “substantial interest”, though they must still of course establish substantial grounds for any challenge. Allowing such concerned groups access to the courts in appropriate cases reinforces the democratic process as well as ensuring that our Aarhus obligations continue to be fulfilled.
· Acquisition of sub stratum lands (lands below 10 m) at nil value, unless the claimant can prove otherwise, potentially saving both time and money in the metro projects.Minister Roche concluded by saying that all necessary steps were being taken to ensure that the main strategic infrastructure provisions of the Act could be commenced later in the Autumn.
ENDS
http://www.gov.ieLooks like Blackpool is set for another huge residential development.
A deal has been reached which will result in one of the largest residential developments yet in the rapidly re-developing village, within 10 minutes walk of St.Patrick Street.
Loftus have just completed the purchase of T&A building supplies on Watercourse Road (with rear access on Great William O’Brien Street), as well as the adjacent public house. It is widely believed that Loftus also own (and have done for a number of years) the low density retail units between T&A and the former Lido Cinema building (itself the subject of a recent planning rejection).
The site itself is similar in size to Frinailla’s Watercourse Road offering, City Square/Lady’s Well and is within a stones throw of the new Government Buildings/Revenue Offices currently under construction. With both Blackpool Shopping/Retail centre and St.Patrick’s Street just a 10 minute stroll away, this site will be a developers dream for residential use.
A sale price of €12.5 million has been mooted.
Plans will now be formulated for a high density residential development with minor retail frontages. The site is constrained somewhat, in that it borders on its southern edge, Madden’s Buildings, which are listed, protected structures. Recent large scale developments adjacent to these buildings have been rightly, cut down in size to protect the one storey cottages from being overlooked.
On the rest of the site however, expect some fairly hardcore development.
Also expect some important local input, with Kathleen Lynch TD living just 100 yards from the site, she has already shown her willingness to battle developers on behalf of local residents.
This development’s impact on Great William O’Brien Street, Madden’s Buildings and Watercourse Road will make it one that will be argued over for a while yet.
Anyway, early days, everything is still at the very early planning stages.
The newly opened Cork City and County Archive Building on Great Willaim O’Brien Street is to be named the Seamus Murphy Building after a recent vote by CCC.
Seamus Murphy was a sculptor from Mallow who worked on Watercourse Road in Blackpool. He designed The Church of the Annunciation, Blackpool and completed most of the sculptural stonework in the building himself.
His work is also evident in many busts, plaques and commemorative stones (including gravestones) around the country, as well as numerous statue pieces. The 110th anniversary of his birth will take place in 2007 and this is part of CCC’s commemoration of that year.
New Archives Centre in Blackpool
Seamus Murphy
Blackpool Church, Seamus Murphy’s masterpieceAs i said before, it’s not the new Terminal building itself that is at fault. It is the too few staff and the ridiculous pennypinching which leads to underutilisation of airbridges, lack of new trolleys, lack of the correct number of check in staff, etc.
There’s little or nothing wrong with the airport design. It is the utilisation of the building which is causing the problems. I mean, seriously, how much to buy 500 new trolleys? then scrap the worst of the old ones and we’d have c.800 trolleys for customer use.The new Terminal at Cork Airport is lovely to look at and inside, it’s large and relatively well laid out. Certainly it could do with more (working) air bridges, but we’ve got to realise that the airlines themselves are the ones which won’t use them!
The main problem I see with the airport at the moment is that for all its new finery, it is still staffed by people who are at best, work shy!
What’s the point in having a huge bank of check in desks if there’s only one person to check in a flight. Queues are the inevitable result.
What’s the point in having four new baggage reclaim carosels if you’ve got one guy to unload the plane and transport them to the terminal and laod them on the carosel. It doesn’t help that yer man thinks he’s in some sort of slow bicycle race either.Forget about a new terminal, just get new (and more) staff.
@Pug wrote:
With AIB blackpool closing down, what are the chances of Frinailla taking it in as part of their watercourse rd development? Would be hilarious if after all Kathleen Lynchs objections to their site, that they bought the AIB site which moved because they were refused planning on an objection put in by……..Kathleen Lynch.
No, I think AIB have their heart set on a move to the retail park in Blackpool. Unfortunately banks don’t really want to deal with the general public anymore, so they figure the closer they get to their business clients and the further they get away from real people the better 🙂 but that’s another day’s argument!
So, what with this fire at R&H Hall (delibrately started according to some reports), will we see the development of this area move forward at a quicker pace, or not? I know CCC had been in negotiations with all landowners in the docklands. I think it was on here that I heard that at one time, CCC had planned to move the City Archives (now located in Blackpool) to a new site, close to these silo’s. Now that would have been some progress!
I’ve mentioned this before, but we really need a full on Cork Docklands Authority to oversee this whole development and actually get it moving. I know CCC have set up a docklands directorate, and that’s a start, but we need to see national involvement and that of high profile business leaders and developers.
Perhaps some clever politician will set something up before the upcoming election. Could be a real votewinner for Cork!@ctesiphon wrote:
Could somebody please explain to me what this event has to do with Developments in Cork (the title of the thread)? It would appear to me that it is quite the opposite of development (unless you take the PDA 2000 definition of ‘development’ as including demolition- but that’s stretching that definition a bit). Wouldn’t it belong more properly in the Cork Docklands thread?
1. It’s a significant event in the city which will have an effect on the timeframe in which we can hope to see serious development in the south docks.
2. These buildings are the skyline of the inner harbour and today’s fire will presumably lead to their loss. Now whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is debatable but it is development related nonetheless.
3. The image itself gives a good view of the south docks/kent station site and shows why the Manor Park Homes development urgently needs to get off the ground.
4. Finally, corkdood thought it was something interesting and went out of his way to make a positive contribution to the thread. Fair play to him.Who are you ctesiphon? The thread police?
DAT partnership have been given permission by CCC for their development of the triangualr site near the bus station, bounded by Clontarf Street, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street and Dean Street.
Originally planned as a 9-storey, modern design, the building will be reduced to 7 storey by condition. An Taisce have submitted an obsevation, and it is unknown as to whether the decision will be appealled to ABP.AIB Bank in Blackpool are to close their existing branch on Watercourse Road and move the business to the new Blackpool Retail Park.
The Branch on Watercourse Road was the subject of a planning application more than a year ago when the bank wanted to demolish the existing building and build a modern replacement. THis application was approved by CCC, only to be appealled by local TD Kathleen Lynch. This appeal was subsequently upheld by An Bord Pleanala.
The news of AIB’s relocation has not yet been made public and will no doubt worry locals who already see Blackpool Retail Park/Shopping centre draining the older, more established districts of shops and services.
