Lack of parking sees residents appeal apartment plans opposite Kent Station

PLANS for two apartment blocks opposite Kent Station have been put on hold following an appeal.

Last August, S&L Supple and Lynch Ltd lodged a planning application with Cork City Council seeking permission for the development of 19 apartments at a site between 81 and 82 on Lower Glanmire Road.

It proposed the partial demolition of an existing stone boundary wall to Lower Glanmire Rd to create a pedestrian entrance to the development and the construction of nine two-bed apartments and 10 one-bed apartments in two blocks over four storeys.

The application also included several other elements, among them a proposed communal garden and bicycle parking.

The site is an old and unused railway line raised above Lower Glanmire Rd behind a wall.

A design statement submitted with the application said the site of proposed development is zoned ‘Sustainable Residential Neighbourhoods’ and that the development had been designed to harmonise’ within the existing urban context.

Cork City Council sought some further information before making a decision on the application, but ultimately decided to approve it subject to 30 conditions.

Appeal

However, a third party appeal has now been lodged with An Bord Pleanála.

The appeal, submitted by the Summerhill Residents Association and Heritage Preservation Group – said to represent ‘the majority of the long-term and owner/occupier residents of Summerhill North as well as numerous tenants and leaseholders’ – said conditions attached to the grant of planning permission do not address concerns they have.

Among their concerns is a lack of parking associated with the development. The appeal contends that residents on Lower Glanmire Road and Summerhill North struggle to find parking near their homes as it stands.

“These busy roads are already under severe pressure daily with respect to parking even for residents with parking permits, with residents forced to find parking considerable distances from their properties with all the attendant adverse consequences,” it states.

“We ask ABP to grant our appeal and reject this permission or, at the least, to restrict any development of this site to a low to moderate density with a low built height profile largely protected by the substantial south wall thus enhancing amenity,” the appeal continues. An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision on the case by mid-September.