Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project to go to tender before year end

The long-delayed Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project will go to tender before year end with works expected to commence in the second quarter of next year, Cork City Council has confirmed.

The update comes as parts of the city centre experienced consecutive days of flooding over the long weekend, with business representatives calling for flood defences to be put in place as a matter of urgency.

The Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project has been stalled by several legal challenges, but a Supreme Court decision last December cleared the way for works to commence.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council has now told The Echo that the scheme “is going to tender in the final quarter of this year”.

“The resulting tender submissions will be assessed and approved in Q1 next year with works expected to begin on site in Q2.

“It’s anticipated that the scheme will take over 20 months to fully complete,” the spokesperson added.

The Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project is being pursued as a separate project to the wider Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme (LLFRS).

The project is a Cork City Council-led public realm scheme with flood defence elements part funded by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

The OPW say the scheme provides for “a complete renewal of the public space from Parnell Bridge along to Parliament Bridge, including enhanced flood protection measures”.

Third-party challenges 

Approved by city councillors in 2018, the scheme was subsequently approved by An Bord Pleanála (ABP) in June 2020.

In August 2020, the Save Cork City (SCC) Community Association Ltd applied for, and was granted, leave to take a Judicial Review of the ABP decision to approve the project.

The Judicial Review hearing took place in July 2021 and the High Court upheld the decision of ABP to grant the planning permission for the proposed development and refused a stay on the undertaking of any works pursuant to the grant of the planning permission for the proposed development and the High Court also subsequently refused a request for leave to appeal.

The scheme faced further legal challenge when an application was made directly to the Supreme Court by Save Cork City Community Association CLG and leave to appeal was granted in May 2022.

A spokesperson for the OPW told The Echo last year that the appeal focused “primarily on the jurisdiction of An Bord Pleanála to conduct an EIA screening in an application made under s.177AE of the 2000 Act”.

The case came before the Supreme Court last December, where a unanimous decision by a five-judge court dismissed the appeal.

Cork City Council chief executive, Ann Doherty, has previously described the Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project as a “critical infrastructural project”, with Minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Patrick O’Donovan, contending that, when completed, the project “will contribute towards defending the community and businesses in a significant area of Cork city centre from tidal flooding”.