Planning permission refused for apartments in Cork city's Blackpool

PLANNING permission for apartments at the site of a derelict property near the centre of Blackpool has been refused.

In December, Kieran O’Shea lodged an application with Cork City Council seeking permission for the demolition of a derelict building at 11 Broad Lane, off Great William O’Brien Street, and the construction of four apartments in a new four storey block.

A planning statement said a “lengthy list of applications” for development at the site have been unsuccessful.

In recent years, this included an application which envisaged four residential units in a four-storey block which was refused permission in 2020.

A further planning application for a proposal similar to the most recent application was granted permission in 2022, albeit with a condition to remove the top storey, which would reduce the number of units to three.

“Following consultation with building cost and estate management consultants, it has proven impossible to render the proposal economically viable at the permitted, reduced, density,” the planning statement said.

“Hence the necessity for a further application for a four-unit scheme in order to establish a permission with even the merest hope of final construction with economic viability.”

It said that a “recurring reason” given for refusal on the site is the “alleged inappropriateness of the ‘massing and scale’ of proposed development”.

“It should be noted that referencing the scale of any urban development to unrepresentative two-storey sections of the existing urban grain is not a particularly accurate or sustainable planning approach to any city site.

“Moreover, it only exacerbates and highlights the problem in the greater Blackpool area of significant urban decay and the need for development in the area,” the statement continued.

All apartments proposed as part of the 2023 application were “in excess of the minimum standards suggested in the guidelines”, while efforts were made in the design of the building to minimise overlooking of adjacent properties, the planning statement contended.

A number of submissions and objections were made in relation to the plans.

One objector said they believed the proposed development would be “totally out of character” in the area. Other concerns included overlooking and the potential for increased traffic.

In refusing planning permission, Cork City Council said the proposed development would “constitute an excessive density and represent overdevelopment of a small, restricted site, which would be out of character with surrounding development and the established residential character of the area”.

The council said the development, as proposed, would “seriously injure the amenities of the area and of adjoining properties”.