Plans for 200 Cork homes rejected over fears of impact on retail
Planning permission for almost 200 Cork homes, outside the city as part of a mixed-use development, has been rejected amid concerns over its adverse impact on retail business in nearby towns, writes Seán McCárthaigh.
An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) turned down the planning application by Cloghroe Development Limited for a development of 198 residential units at Coolflugh, Cloghroe, Tower.
The plans comprised 117 houses and 79 apartments and duplex units across six three-storey blocks as well as two apartments above a café on a 7.5-hectare site.
The development had also provided for a crèche, a retail food store with an off-licence and an urban plaza as well as an upgrade to the R617 – Blarney Road.
However, ACP listed five separate grounds for refusing planning permission, including the impact on retail in nearby Blarney and Ballincollig.
Cork City Council had recommended that the project should have been approved as it would make “a significant contribution to addressing the housing shortage in the city”, although several councillors had expressed reservations.
ACP noted that the Cork City Development Plan (CCDP) 2022-2028 stated that Tower does not require additional retail space during the lifetime of the plan, while the site of the proposed development is not identified as a neighbourhood, local or village centre.
ACP said the plans would undermine the council’s retail strategy and would Idea: Digital image of the development in Tower, Co. Cork “likely have an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the nearby settlements of Blarney and Ballincollig”.
It concluded they would represent a material contravention of the CCDP.
ACP said the plans did not meet the unit mix requirements, while the proposed density of 35 residential units per hectare was below the minimum density of 40 units per hectare set out for Tower in the CCDP.
The planning body noted that the number of one-bed apartments exceeded the 20% maximum limit in the CCDP, while the number of three-or-more-bed apartments was less than the 50% set out in the plan.
The CCDP also requires all planning applications for multiple housing units in Tower to be examined in the context of the current and future capacity of Cloghroe National School, with the issue being a “determining factor” in the number and phasing of such developments.
ACP said the developer had not provided any information about the future demand on or existing capacity of the school in its planning application.
Cloghroe Development said the scheme would have continued with the implementation of the planned and sustainable delivery of housing in Tower as well as the expansion of retail services to meet an identified demand.
Consultants for the developer claimed demand for additional retail development in Tower was high due to its growing population, while the current reliance on businesses in Ballincollig and Blarney to serve their needs encouraged “unsustainable travel patterns”.
A total of 37 third-party submissions were made to ACP with many pointing out that Tower had already exceeded its development target of 182 new housing units under the CCDP.
The plans comprised 117 houses and 79 apartments and duplex units across six three-storey blocks as well as two apartments above a café on a 7.5-hectare site.
Some observers claimed that the land earmarked for a supermarket could be better used as a sports pitch given inadequate play facilities in the area.
ACP made the ruling after the planning application had been remitted back to it by the High Court in May 2024 after successful judicial review proceedings were taken against a split decision by An Bord Pleanála.
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