Plan for development of community sports centre at Kerry Pike approved

Cork City Council has approved plans for the development of a community sports pavilion in Kerry Pike, which the chairman of the local community association said would be a “massive addition to the village”.

Last year, Clogheen and Kerry Pike Parish Field Ltd lodged a planning application with the local authority seeking permission to remove an existing temporary shed and changing rooms at Ballycannon Park and to develop a community sports pavilion to include a first-floor viewing area, sports hall, changing rooms, and community hub room.

The application also sought permission for a sports storage and maintenance shed, car parking, and associated works.

Speaking to The Echo, Iain McGregor, chairman of the Clogheen/Kerry Pike Community Association, said local efforts have been ongoing for several years to progress such an amenity to planning.

“We’ve been trying for years to get something up to this stage, so we’re absolutely delighted that we’ve got it there,” he said.

Mr McGregor pointed to the “huge need” for amenities in Kerry Pike, which has grown substantially in recent years, and said the pavilion would be a “massive addition to the village”.

He said funding had been secured from the local authority to progress the proposed development to planning application stage, but that funding will now need to be obtained to progress the development.

“It’s great to have the plans now in place, but unless it’s developed, it’s just a piece of paper,” said Mr McGregor.

“So from here on in we’ll be working on many fronts for funding. We currently have an application in for the sports capital grant.

“We’ve sent in all the information for that. We’re just waiting on a response, like many other people, to see if we’ve been successful for that grant.”

Mr McGregor said the association would also be fundraising locally, adding that in the past there has been “great buy-in from the community when it comes to fundraising”.

It is envisaged that the new pavilion will be built in phases.

“Phase one will be the ground floor and we will hopefully be looking to get that built in the next two years,” Mr McGregor explained, adding that this would incorporate toilets, changing rooms, the reception area and hallway, and a community hub.

The sports hall would likely be developed in the following phase.

There are 32 conditions attached to Cork City Council’s approval of the development.