City planners crack down on new parking refusing permission for two car parks 

CITY Hall is cracking down on cars entering the city by refusing permission for two separate parking facilities comprising of almost 100 spaces.

The two applications have been blocked because they do not support sustainable transport, according to city planners.

An application by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for 53 new parking spaces has been refused at the church’s site on the Western Road.

A previous planning application dating back to 2008 on the site for 69 car parking spaces to bring the number to 152 in total was granted on the condition that they would only be used for church activities.

The parish priest at the time said the additional spaces would be used for funerals, weddings and Sunday masses.

However, it was pointed out in the planners report on the new application that the site currently operates a pay car park for the general public with spaces advertised on www.parkopedia.ie.

The report stated: “Cork City Council is committed to encouraging alternatives to the private car and encouraging a shift toward increased use of sustainable transport. It is also committed to maximising the use of existing car parks, many of which are not used to full capacity at present.

“Having regard to the location of the site on a public transport route and within walking distance of the city centre and proximity of other car parks in the city centre, the proposed development would undermine efforts to implement measures that would assist in modal shift to sustainable transport modes and would materially contravene stated policy objectives and maximum car parking standards, contrary to proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

“The proposal would also set an undesirable precedent for the unsustainable under-use of land as surface car parking elsewhere in the city, contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the report added.

Meanwhile, Bon Secours Healthcare System Ltd has been refused permission for 44 spaces in the construction of a surface car park at College Road on the site of the former Western Star pub.

The planner’s report outlined the same reasons for refusing parking at Sacred Heart site and added that the development would fail to contribute positively to the streetscape in an area of “historic and architectural significance”.

“It would... adversely affect the character of the area and seriously injure the visual amenities of the area, contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the report stated.