Planning permission blocked for 13-storey apartment block in Cork suburb
A proposal to develop a 13-storey apartment block in a Cork city suburb has been refused planning permission.
The proposed 66-apartment, 13-storey tower in Glanmire would have been just four metres shorter than the Elysian tower, the tallest building in Cork.
However, Cork County Council planners rejected the proposal, citing a range of issues including height, scale, design and lack of proximity to public transport.
The plans from applicant Tom Moynihan were originally submitted in January. However, county planners deemed it invalid on the basis the public notice was not visible. A representative of Mr Moynihan said the notice was “being removed by unknown third parties on a regular basis”.
A renewed application was resubmitted in February. The plans included 66 apartments, a restaurant and gym, two commercial units and three levels of basement parking with 102 spaces. The site is just a few minutes from an approved 608-house development at Ballinglanna.
Locals had raised concerns about the development, with dozens of submissions presented. Height and the development's impact on traffic were among the issues raised.
In its decision, communicated yesterday, planners rejected the proposal due to 'its excessive height, bulk, scale, massing, detailed design, poor relationship to its content and the town centre and lack of proximity to high frequency/high capacity public transport'.
They also cited its 'incongruous scale and built-form in the context of the surrounding environment' which would have a 'significant and detrimental impact' on the visual amenity of the surrounding area.
The proposed development "would, therefore, be contrary to the objectives of the Cork County Development Plan 2014, the Cobh Municipal District Local Area Plan 2017" and guidance contained in a number of Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government documents on 'the proper planning and sustainable development of the area', planners added.
The Green Party in Cork organised meetings during the planning process. Its representative Oliver Moran said: "What I would like to see the conversation move on to now, is the sort of development that would actually benefit Glanmire. This development was proposed in an area zoned for a Glanmire town centre. If there is one good thing to come out of it, it is that it has gotten people talking."
"Glanmire, as a town, is bigger that Youghal, not far behind Cobh or Midleton and growing still. It needs a genuine town centre with local facilities like a cinema, a swimming pool, a cultural hub, shops, offices. Residential and over-the-shop living has a vital place in that."
