Planning sought for extension to Cork school

A CORK secondary school has sought planning permission for an extension, which it said would provide “state-of-the-art educational facilities on the site into the future” and address a “shortfall in the number of classrooms” if green lit.

The application, lodged with Cork City Council by Christian Brothers College Board of Management, proposes the demolition of an existing astroturf pitch and the construction of a part two-storey and part three-storey building at the college’s campus on Sidney Hill.

Permission is also sought for an all-weather playing pitch, sheltered bicycle parking, car parking spaces and other ancillary works.

A design statement submitted with the application said the proposed development “has been informed by a comprehensive needs analysis conducted by the Board of Management of Christian Brothers College with all relevant stakeholders”.

It said the proposed new building is designed to accommodate 150 pupils of the current school population of 920 pupils and that management does not intend to increase overall student numbers beyond the existing 920 pupil enrolment.

The design statement said the new building would “address a shortfall in the number of classrooms on the school campus which impacts on the school’s ability to meet identified targets such as reducing class sizes and increasing subject offerings”.

It stated that, while planning permission was granted in 2020 for a new five-storey development on a site to the southwest of the subject site of the current planning application, a subsequent review by the Board of Management, in consultation with Edmund Rice Schools Trust, decided that the previously permitted development was “not commercially viable and should not proceed in its original form”.

“It is now expected that the school’s requirements for additional space will be met instead through the development proposed in this planning application,” the statement said.

A decision is due by August 15.