End of contractual dispute sees Cork City Council make progress on Knocknaheeny housing project

PART of a major Cork regeneration project that was stalled for four years can now progress following a breakthrough in a long-running dispute.

Work on 24 houses, which began in March 2020 under Phase 2c of the Cork City Northwest Quarter Regeneration (CNWQR) programme, stalled in what was described by Cork City Council as a “complex contractual dispute”.

Now that dispute has been resolved, and work on the 24 houses located on Kilmore Road in Knocknaheeny, close to the water tower, can progress. In a statement issued yesterday evening, Cork City Council said it had “concluded its contractual arrangements with the initial building contractor”.

The council said its housing delivery and regeneration team would “immediately re-set the project”, with the intention of delivering quality homes on the site in what it said would be a timely manner.

“The council is therefore making immediate arrangements to take over the site, to secure the site, and to undertake any urgent or necessary works,” it stated.

“Safety and enabling works will be prioritised and ongoing.

“…[A] further update will issue in due course by Cork City Council as matters progress.”

Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent said he welcomed a resolution and was hopeful work could begin as soon as possible.

“It has taken a long time to get to this point, too long in my opinion, but in saying that, I do acknowledge the work done by the city council in getting to a resolution here,” he said.

“The main thing is that this site is finished out for people to move in, so we can drive on and even speed up delivery of the regeneration plan.”

The CNWQR masterplan was adopted by the council in November 2011 and involves the demolition of 450 houses and the design and construction of over 600 new homes.

Responding to a Dáil question last week from Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said that to date, 121 houses have been completed under CNWQR, and a further 103 are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

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