Green light for large student accommodation development in Cork city 

PERMISSION has been granted for a five storey student accommodation development on Orchard Road in Cork.

An Bord Pleanála has granted permission for the construction of the development which includes 20 student apartments in three blocks with a total of 216 bed spaces comprising one four-bed apartment, 10 six-bed apartments, and 19 eight-bed apartments.

Also included in the development are student support facilities including a study room, lounge, cinema, reception area, management offices and storage.

The provision of 120 bicycle parking spaces, four car parking spaces, a plant room, condenser enclosure, and recycling and refuse storage facilities have also been approved.

All ancillary works including landscaped areas, vehicular and pedestrian access, footpath upgrades, site infrastructure, provision of photovoltaic panels at roof level and site developments are located at San Paula on Orchard Road.

The development off College Road and close to University College Cork (UCC) is set to cater for over 200 students.

In coming to its decision, the Board had regard for considerations including the site’s location on lands with a zoning objective for residential development, the policies and objectives of the Cork City Development Plan 2015 to 2021, the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness 2016 and the National Planning Framework.

The Board also completed an Appropriate Assessment Screening exercise in relation to the potential effects of the proposed development on designated European sites and concluded that the proposed development would not be likely to have a significant effect on any European site either by itself or in combination with any other plan project and that a stage 2 Appropriate Assessment is not required.

An environmental impact assessment screening determination for the Strategic Housing applications was carried out by the Board’s inspector with regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development on an urban site served by public infrastructure, the absence of any significant environmental sensitivities in the area, and the location of the development outside of any sensitive location specified in article 109(3) of the Planning and Development Regulations 200.

It was concluded that there is no real likelihood of significant effects on the environment and therefore an environmental impact assessment report is not required.