Planning refused for 450-bed student accommodation complex in Cork city

Plans for a major student development on the site of a former convent on Model Farm Rd have been refused.

Last December, Lyonshall Limited lodged a planning application with Cork City Council seeking permission for the development of a 450-bed purpose-built student accommodation complex at the site of the former St Joseph’s Convent and on an adjacent section of land to the rear of the Lee Garage.

The applicants said the proposed development would include the demolition of the former St Joseph’s Convent and the construction of three apartment blocks ranging in height from two to five storeys.

St Joseph’s was used as a nursing home in recent years, before being put on the market in February 2022 and sold on May 3, 2022 for €2.52m.

A planning statement submitted with the Lyonshall’s planning application contended that the proposed development offered an opportunity to transform an “under-utilised brownfield site and associated lands into a vibrant new purpose-built student accommodation”, which would “contribute to the supply of much needed student bedspaces with Cork city”.

“The design and layout of the proposed development will ensure the highest standards of urban design and sustainability are achieved, in a manner that responds to the established residential character of the area,” the statement continued.

Objections 

Dozens of submissions and objections were lodged with the council regarding the plans.

One objector said the proposed student complex was an “extremely large-scale development” proposed to be developed in an area which is a “long, well-established residential area of low-rise family houses”.

“This proposal is contrary to the pattern of existing development in the area of family houses and is totally out of character for this area,” they said.

Meanwhile another individual asserted that the proposed development would be a “gross outlier in the Model Farm Road area of low density, low height family homes” and highlighted concerns over the “extreme minimalistic parking spaces” proposed as part of the development.

In refusing planning permission, Cork City Council said it deemed the development as proposed would be “visually overbearing and out of scale and character with the pattern of development in the area”.

Also among its reasons, the local authority said that - having regard to the height, massing and scale of the development and its proximity to adjoining dwelling houses - it considered that the proposed development would “seriously injure the residential amenities of property in the vicinity by reason of visual overbearance and loss of light and overlooking impact, contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.