Saucy Jack

@sovereign12 wrote:

Was passing the elysian this morning and noticed a large unit at the back of the building on the albert street side by the traffic lights is being fitted out to be occupied and also I noticed a few appartments in the tower are light up at night and appear to be occupied. Does anybody have any info as to weather people are already moving in? I was under the impression this building was a white elephant.

Some Bank has taken that unit AFAIK. ACC ?

A couple of apartments have been sold allright but then again The Empire State was launched during the great depression and they had to leave the lights on at night to make it seem more attractive.

@shanekeane wrote:

You’re like one of those men who become obsessed by an ugly woman and nobody else can understand what they see in her. To compare Cork to Prague, Budapest and Paris is more than slightly ridiculous. My point is not that there isn’t a small amount of character, but that it’s all very badly kept. And the quays in Cork are completely ugly for most of their length.

No where did I directly compare Cork with Paris,Prague & Budapest ?

My point is that those 3 cities have 3 interesting central cores with plenty of cheap grey housing outside.

Walk down the North Mall,The Mardyke,The Marina,Georges Quay,Sullivans Quay,Lapps Quay,Union Quay.Posting 3 poor examples is a cheap shot especially as the Beamish complex will be up for re-development very soon.

As a Dub who is now living in Cork for 11 years I have explored every road and lane of the city centre and it has a whole lot more character than Dublin which resembles a provincial English City in parts with all o f the hasles of a big city and very few of the conveniences.Cork has Kinsale and the coast less than 30 minutes away.I can take the kids to the beach on a summer evening easily or stroll around a quaint city centre uncluttered by endless UK multiples.

Its easy to focus on the negatives of any city but to me Cork feels continental,almost a French feel to it,an identity all of its own,facing south and not bothered but tastes of fashions temporary styles.

Liveline are doing this as one of their topics today Thursday 10 July.

@malec wrote:

OK this will sound very childish but I have to say it.
I couldn’t give a flying **** about any of this political bullshit. I just want to see a whole load of cranes in the docklands and this HH project built asap with as little meddling as possible. Why the hell are they lobbing 2 storeys off anyway? As if that’s going to make a difference when the tallest has 28 floors or something.

Exactly ! Build it and best of luck to Howard Holdings for having the balls to go for it.
Hopwards are ahead of the possie on this one and can see the potential of the Docklands whilst City Hall will still be only talking about it in 10 years time.

Cork needs to wake up if it wants to compete with Dublin – Belfast corridor.
About time that Cork decided to actually go fot it as you can always find negative begrudgers around every corner.

Is Kite the bitterest poster on here ?

11 April 2008

Cork Airport votes to accept €113m debt

By Eoin English
THE board of Cork Airport was split last night after agreeing by just one vote to accept a €113 million debt to secure independence from Dublin Airport.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey had to guarantee government support, including financial support, if the airport cannot meet its repayments in the years ahead.

The assurance was given during a marathon meeting of the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) during which contacts were also made with the government-appointed mediator Peter Cassells.

He was asked by Mr Dempsey in February to help break the bitter four-year impasse between the CAA and Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) over funding and separation.

Mr Cassells recommended a package which included the CAA assuming responsibility for a €113m DAA loan. He said the DAA should transfer ownership to the CAA of land around Cork airport and its stake in the Brooklyn business park, which together have a combined value of €50m to €70m.

Mr Cassells also suggested the DAA make a payment of up to €10m to the CAA to help it meet pension and “other funding requirements”. He said when all the factors are considered, Cork would separate from Dublin with a funding solution of €20m to €40m.

The CAA finally voted by the slimmest of margins last night to accept the package.

A statement issued by the CAA after the vote said it was extremely disappointed that the Government’s 2004 promise of a debt-free independent airport has not been delivered. It described the Cassells’ report as unfair

“The board of CAA has strong reservations about the level of debt that Cork Airport is being levied with and its potential impact on its sustainability,” it said.

“In this regard, the board has sought and received assurances from the Minister for Transport that an independent Cork Airport can rely on support, financial or otherwise, to ensure the airport’s continued viability in the event of it being unable to meet its fixed funding obligations as a consequence of the occurrence of certain adverse business risks or extraordinary events.”

The CAA said it is prepared to work with the proposals to develop an independent airport. It also said assurances given to airport staff regarding their pensions and terms and conditions of employment need to be implemented in full.

Last night, Cork North Central TD Fine Gael’s Bernard Allen said local ministers and government TDs had “shown no political backbone” on this issue and “they needed to put the interests of the region over self interest”.

He said the debt could mean huge increases in airport charges which low cost airlines won’t tolerate.

Time for Cork to stand alone and compete ?

@jungle wrote:

I think you’re at the heart of the problem with Irish politicians there. They actually spend money on studies and grand plans because it fools people into thinking they are doing something about problems.

Let me give you an example on this.

Recently talk has yet again emerged of a light rail system. I’m all for this, but really it’s not what we need politicians to look at now.

Even if a decision was made to build it today, we’d be looking at the following timeframe

Identification of routes would take until 2009
You’d then look at a public enquiry, which would take it into 2010
Then you need to get the legalities of the railway order/planning permission sorted out, so we’re talking late 2010
Put out tenders and we’re into 2011
And then judging by the LUAS it would take 3 or 4 years to build it.

So, even if the decision was made today and the funding was available, we wouldn’t see it in operation until 2014 at the earliest.

Now, if we go back to the last election. Imagine somebody has then decided to double bus frequency on every route. Even with buying busses and hiring and training drivers, we could be seeing benefits pretty soon.

The truth is that the grand designs hide the fact that politicians aren’t making the simple decisions that could mean a massive improvement in the transport situation in the city.

It’s actually hard to quantify my disillusionment with all the main political parties, their lack of vision and even

their lack of basic planning and managerial skills. Sometimes I think I should get involved in politics because I could hardly do a worse job, but then when I look at the alternatives of being part of one of the parties that have historically failed us or being an independent with no power to influence or make changes, I just despair completely.

Look at the Healy – Rea’s and the Tony Gregories of this world and what they have recieved for their constituencies ?

The current government are very poor in relation to Cork.

@Pug wrote:

feasibility study on the Luas is welcome but when thats done, there will prob have to be a cost benefit analysis, then funding will have to be appropriated, then the thing actually built, its all a dripfeed of information to cover up the length of time these things take if in fact it will happen at all and we just get extra trambuses / bustrams, whatever they are calling them these days

Brian Cowen announced shamelessly the budget would provide funds for the Cork Midleton railway to be ready for 2009 (i.e. 2010), a project originally announced in May 2004. Was there any mention of Sarsfield Rd/Bandon Rd flyover, N28 to Ringaskiddy, Macroom Bypass, etc etc

Kent Station redevelopment was announced in 2005. In August 2007 CIE said a plan for the redevelopment would be ready “within months”. Shouldnt it have been ready in 2005?

Chatting to an old fellah retired engineer in a pub in Cork recently and he argued that Cork was more prestigious and better looked after under British Rule, infrastructure wise with tram service,trains,ports,dry docks,British Navy at Cobh,roads & rail infrastructure etc and that Cobh has gone into decline since the British Navy pulled out.

Remarkably quiet on the Cork Docklands tax designation missing from the budget also.

@POM wrote:

Just reading the Galway thread there. I think its brilliant for Galway with the news about the CIE lands being redeveloped and I’m very glad to hear it, but it simply highlights the fact to me that CIE are arsing around with Horgan’s Quay in Cork. Its amazing how fast they can move when they want to, yet 8 years later we’re still hanging around waiting for CIE and Manor Park to get a move on with no clear date for an application anytime soon. It really is a disgrace and an awful big let down for the whole city. It strikes me as a further representation the Government and its bodies have for Cork (i.e. School of Music, Bus Station, Cork Airport, Horgan’s Quay, Decentralisation). I know there are issues involved, but drive can sort out such issues fairly lively. Lex posted some images of early drawings by O’Mahony Pike on Horgans Quay here before. I hope that what is, if it ever does get lodged, will be a dramatic improvement on those efforts. I’m really hoping O’Mahony Pike show more Gallery Quay mixed with Dennehy’s Cross than Charlotte Quay here. Dramatic edges and extensive glazing opening out to face the river are needed here. Design issues aside, I continue to resent the prolonged and inadequate progress by CIE on Horgan’s Quay. Four million euro novelty revamps may look nice on paper but they are just that, novelty…just like the Bus Station revamp and just like the inability to provide Cork Airport with proper airbridges and then still expect it to carry the debt despite promises.

Absolutely spot on there – poor representation by all of our elected representatives in Cork.
Opera House unfinished interior etc lack of central government funding ?
Cork 2005 lack of central government funding.
Bus station waste of money.
Kent station – massive potential just sitting there.
Cork Airport – 1 airbridge.
Cork Airport 160million start off debt.
School of music via an taisce delays and funding issues.
Kinsale Road flyover etc delays.

In another year they will be bothering us for votes again

@corkdood wrote:

Whilst on the subject of overhead wires it seems to me that Cork as a city has quite a lot. Obviously in the past this was the way wires were run but these days surely most urban streets have ample culverts in pace to take wires beneath the road surface.

Finally its always been a bug bear of mine that Cork City council used to leave the overhead wires traversing St Patrick Street in place all year round. These wires were used to support the christmas decorations.
I was delighted when the street was redeveloped and the announcement was made that there were to be new decorations. However in their wisdom the city council now leaves the christmas decorations in place all year round. What is that about???????

Also the ammount of unused poles on pavements etc. all over the city is multiplying.
Fairly neglegent allright – Check out the set of lanterns on St.Patricks Bridge next time you are in the city Centre, I thoght they might have been refurbished for 2005.A refurbishment similar to Parliament Bridge might happen some day.

Also whats the story with the lighting pn Oliver Plunkett Street ??? As we have those temporary steel poles there for over a year now.