Renewed calls for State to acquire Bessborough lands following latest planning application for housing
Yesterday, it was announced that MWB Two Ltd has applied for planning permission for a 92-unit residential development at Bessborough in Blackrock.
RENEWED calls have been made for the State to acquire lands at Bessborough by way of compulsory purchase order (CPO) following a new planning application for residential development at the site.
Yesterday, it was announced that MWB Two Ltd has applied for planning permission for a 92-unit residential development at Bessborough in Blackrock.
The development would include 43 one-bed units, 30 two-bed units and 18 three-bed units as well as a creche, parking facilities and bike storage.
Between 1922 and 1998, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, ran a mother and baby home at Bessborough.
Following an Oral Hearing last year, An Bord Pleanála turned down an application lodged by MWB Two Ltd for a residential development and creche at a site in Bessborough, stating that it was not satisfied that the site was not previously used as a children’s burial ground.
A spokesperson for MWB Two Ltd told the current application “is for a separate site”.
However, Labour local area rep for Cork city Peter Horgan said he was “frustrated” to find out that another planning application has been lodged for development at Bessborough, an area he said which is “fraught with emotion”.
Mr Horgan said he believes that the State should “take possession of the whole site and have a memorial there”.
The MWB spokesperson also said the application is separate to two different planning applications submitted by Estuary View Enterprises 2020 Limited which combined are seeking permission for more than 460 apartments on lands elsewhere at Bessborough.
They also confirmed the subject site relates to land outside of an area designated as a landscape preservation zone.
Maureen Considine of the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance said she believes that “no development permission should be considered until the children’s burial ground is under public ownership and managed as a public cemetery” and called on the MWB Two Ltd to donate the land it owns.
She said that the alliance has concerns about “the potential dispersal of remains” throughout the site that MWB Two Ltd owns.
The application is being project managed by PFS Private, a property development company based in Ballincollig.
The proposed development would comprise of the construction of two stepped buildings ranging in height from five to eight stories and all ancillary works.
MWB Two and PFS Private are working with the Cork-based architecture firm SHIPSEYBARRY, and with local engineering firm RKA Consulting Engineers.
A statement issued on behalf of MWB Two Ltd and PFS Private said the proposed development has been planned and designed with a focus on social and affordable housing units and that the development would also provide for new pedestrian and cyclist entrances onto the upgraded Cork Passage Railway Greenway and vehicular access via an existing access road.
The project would result in the creation of between 170 and 200 jobs in the construction phase and would mark an investment of approximately €40m by MWB Two Ltd in the development.
Speaking about MWB Two Ltd’s current application, Declan Harrington, managing director of PFS Private, said the proposed development would provide “affordable housing solutions for people living and working close to Cork City” of which “there is a direct, urgent need for as the local population continues to grow rapidly”.
“The planning application for this project has been meticulously prepared, in order to accommodate a range of views on the location of the development,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Glen Barry, managing Director of SHIPSEYBARRY, said the site has been “earmarked for new homes in Cork City Council’s new City Development Plan” and presents “a great opportunity to reimagine the area and apply best practice design to a diverse mix of affordable homes in this highly sustainable location”.
