Councillor urges derelict site owners to move on plans

A local councillor has called on the owners of a derelict site in the centre of a Cork town to progress their plans, saying: “The only thing worse than what is there now would be an empty hole in the middle of the main street for years on end”.

The call was made by Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy after demolition works began in recent weeks on part of the site of the former Central Hotel in Mallow. The building has lain idle since its doors closed in 2007, with several fires occurring there since the hotel closed, and in October of last year a derelict site notice was served on the property’s owners, Peppard Investments 8 Limited/Peppard Investments Limited.

Mr Murphy told The Echo that there is no planning permission for the complete demolition of the site, which is privately owned.

“There is planning permission in place from five years ago and under that planning permission there is scope for certain demolition but not of the entire thing.

“However, to the best of my knowledge, that planning permission is not active because there has been no commencement notice,” Mr Murphy said.

“There are also more than a dozen conditions precedent which would need to be met before any works can take place, and to my knowledge they have not been met.” 

He said it was his understanding the planning permission had “ just expired or is about to expire in the next month or two”.

“That planning permission did allow for a partial demolition, mostly of the interior of the site, but it did contain stipulations that the front of the building was to be retained.” 

He said he was calling on the site’s owners to move forward with their plans for the site as quickly as possible.

A senior official with Cork County Council told this month’s meeting of the council’s Northern Committee that there is ‘active’ engagement between the planning enforcement section in the local authority and the owners of the site.

The council’s divisional manager for north Cork Kevin Morey said he would comment briefly “because of the sensitivities around the formal engagement of the council with private property owners”.

“There is active engagement between our planning enforcement section and the owners of the site around possible activity whether it has the protection of planning permission or whether it is an authorised development. I won’t go into detail but there is active engagement on it.” 

Peppard Investments was asked for a comment.