44 apartments and four houses planned for site on Blackrock Rd

A PROMINENT site on the Blackrock Rd containing two derelict properties could be set for a new lease of life as plans for a residential scheme have been lodged with Cork City Council.

Dwellings Developments Blackrock Road Ltd have submitted a planning application seeking to develop 44 apartments and four houses on lands associated with 1 and 2 Ashton Place and Ashton Park.

The site consists of two historic houses that date from the 1840s with associated large rear gardens and a historic access lane with the main development plot to the rear.

No 1 and 2 Ashton Place facing Blackrock Rd were added to the city council’s derelict sites register in 2018. The site containing the houses was sold last year.

According to a design statement submitted with the planning application, the historic buildings, features, context and location of the site within an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) “influenced the design approach of the scheme from the outset”.

The intent for the two existing historic buildings at Ashton Place, it says, is to reinstate them as two private dwellings.

“Preliminary works to facilitate this are already underway with the removal of debris, addressing a significant pigeon infestation and general remedial works to the weathering of the building.

“Prolonged neglect has led to the failure of the roof in a number of locations leading to significant water ingress and subsequent damage to [the] building fabric.

“The extent of water ingress means that following a clean-out, stabilisation and urgent repairs to building fabric a significant period of drying out will be needed as much of the building fabric is saturated,” the statement continues.

The middle section of the site has been identified as a “transition space between the lower density houses and gardens of Ashton Place and the required greater density of the main site to the south”.

Mews houses are planned for this section of the site, and at the rear zone, two apartment buildings ranging in height from five to six storeys are proposed. The development would be accessed via a new vehicular entrance off Ashton Park.

The proposal includes improvement works on the junction between Ashton Park and Blackrock Rd.

Additionally, it includes the provision of a controlled pedestrian crossing on Blackrock Rd to the north and an uncontrolled crossing on Ashton Park to the west.

The scheme would also see the reinstatement of the existing historical public lane, Ashton Avenue, from Blackrock Rd running west of No 1 Ashton Place, which would be used as a pedestrian and cycle access into the development.

The proposed development also includes the provision of outdoor amenity areas, car parking and bicycle parking. A decision on the planning application is expected on September 11.