Cork event centre developer told to pay or enter agreement with council over €2.3m contribution
The developer of the €80m Cork event centre has been told to either pay, or enter into an agreement with Cork City Council in relation to a contribution of just over €2.3m in development charges for the project.
Some €1.6m is for the provision of two pedestrian bridges onto the earmarked site.
A separate development contribution charge of just over €718,000 has been levied in relation to the provision of road, water, drainage and community amenities arising out of the decision to grant planning for the contentious project.
BAM has also been told to preserve on site any remains of the city’s historic walls, a national monument, and to appoint a mobility manager for the venue to agree protocols with the drivers of any HGV vehicles arriving at the arena.
The details emerged yesterday following the publication of the 48-conditions attached to grant of planning by Cork City Council last week for the proposed 6,000-capacity venue on the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St.
BAM has yet to comment publicly on the decision but it is understood that the company is anxious to get construction started quickly, pending any possible appeal.
While most of the conditions attached to the grant of planning are routine and related to various technical and engineering issues, several stand out.
Planners have told BAM that the two proposed pedestrian bridges - one leading from French’s Quay onto the site, and the other leading from Crosse’s Green Quay onto the site - must be built before the venue becomes operational.
And if the bridges aren’t built before the venue opens, the developers have been told that attendance and pedestrian traffic should be limited to that which can be safely managed using existing or approved temporary measures.
Planners have asked for revised drawings to show specific design modifications to include a vertical element midway between the exposed concrete frames in an effort to diminish the scale of the brick panels and to create a better visual relationship with the former brewery’s adjoining historic Counting House.
And they have directed that the LED screen on the northern elevation shall be relocated so that it doesn’t wrap around to the eastern facade, fronting South Main St, and is instead centrally located on the northern elevation where it fronts Counting House Square.
The functioning of the screen - whether it screens static or moving imagery - and its hours of operation must also be agreed with the planning authority.
The developers must also provide details of the intended opening hours of the proposed ticket office.
