Grattan St car park won’t close during Edel House works

GRATTAN street car park will not be closed during construction work to facilitate the redevelopment of Edel House.

The women’s shelter is expanding, due to huge demand for its services.

A €5.2m project includes a state-of-the-art building on the car park adjacent to Edel House and redevelopment of the current building.

Funding is being provided by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and by Cork City Council.

The centre is continually at 100% capacity, with 128 adults and 31 children accommodated last year.

Edel House is the only homeless shelter in Cork that can admit and care for children, with up to 10 families in the centre at any one time.

Councillor Paudie Dineen asked City Hall to address local concerns that parking for residents in the Grattan Street area would be restricted during the construction work.

The local authority’s director of housing, Brian Geaney, said parking facilities will be retained, but there may be brief inconveniences later in the construction stages.

“The city council fully supports the new construction and refurbishment works. There are no plans to close off the existing car park to facilitate these works.

“The council are pleased to see this much-needed project proceeding and will facilitate all stakeholders to progress matters as necessary,” he said.

Last year, 75% of people who stayed in Edel House, which is run by Good Shepherd Cork, left within three months, while 25% of people were for three months and longer.

They also support up to 50 families in B&Bs across the city.