Plans for hundreds of homes on long-idle Cork city site 

Revised plans for a development at the former CMP Dairy site in Cork city, which includes proposals for hundreds of homes, have been submitted to An Bord Pleanála (ABP).

Watfore Limited, the property management and development subsidiary of the site owners Dairygold, has lodged an application with the Board seeking 10-year planning permission for a strategic housing development (SHD) at the site known as Creamfields, located at the corner of Kinsale Road and the Tramore Road.

The proposed development consists of 609 residential dwellings, 561 apartments and 48 townhouse apartments in a mix of one, two, three and four-bed units arranged in 12 buildings with a standalone coffee kiosk.

The buildings would vary in height from one to 15 floors over ground.

All of the dwellings proposed in two of the buildings, a total of 257 units, will be Build to Rent apartments.

The development would also include a crèche with ancillary outdoor play area, a community hub facility, a gym, a retail unit and a café.

The plans include the provision of 209 shared car parking spaces, including EV charging points, 1,145 bicycle parking spaces and 21 motorcycle spaces.

The proposed development will also include the provision of private, communal and public open space, including all balconies and terraces; internal roads and pathways; pedestrian access points; hard and soft landscaping and boundary treatments; a new footpath and cycle lane along Kinsale Road; new access from Kinsale Road; an upgrade of the Kinsale Road/Mick Barry Road junction to facilitate improved pedestrian access to the Black Ash Park and Ride; an upgrade to the existing access from Tramore Road; a cycle lane on Tramore Road; public lighting and all site development works.

Last year, Watfore Limited had been at pre-application consultation stage for an SHD proposal comprising 706 apartments and a childcare facility at the same site.

However, the plans had to be amended before a formal application could be made as ABP stated that the proposed development required “further consideration/amendment”.

The CMP site closed in 2006 and all buildings were subsequently cleared.

Since then the site has remained largely idle, although it has been used occasionally to host a temporary funfair.

The site was rezoned from “light industry and related uses” to “residential, local services and institutional uses” by Cork City Council in 2019.

An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision on the application by mid-June.