A PLANNING application for the development of a new multi-million euro Cork University Business School (CUBS) has been approved.

Last December, University College Cork (UCC) submitted its planning application with Cork City Council for the development between Copley St and South Terrace at the old Brooks Haughton site.

The application sought permission for the demolition of the former Brooks Haughton buildings, structures, and boundary walls and the construction of the new CUBS building, ranging in height from three to six storeys.

The development description stated that the new building would include lecture theatres, academic offices, study and teaching areas, a restaurant and coffee dock, service rooms and bike storage. The application also sought permission for the renovation of 18 and 19 South Terrace for a cafe and study space.

It further requested permission to create a new pedestrian laneway from Copley St to South Terrace with gated access, and landscaping works, including the provision of a courtyard garden accessed via South Terrace, rooftop terrace, and rooftop garden.

The proposals also included temporary landscaping of a future expansion area to the east of the site, to provide a temporary pocket park.

Cork City Council sought further information before making a decision on the application, but has now approved the development, subject to 60 conditions which have not yet been published.

Plans for the €106m business school have been in the pipeline for years, with the State committing €25m towards the costs in 2019.

CUBS was established in 2014. It does not currently have a dedicated building; instead staff and students are dispersed across UCC’s campus, and a number of its research centres are located in the city centre.