Knocknaheeny housing development delayed again after four-year pause

Work on part of a phased housing regeneration project on Cork city’s northside, which had been stalled for over four years, has yet again been delayed.

The delivery of 24 homes at Kilmore Road in Knocknaheeny, under Phase 2C of the Cork City Northwest Quarter Regeneration (CNWQR) Masterplan, had been stalled since 2019 due to what Cork City Council called a “complex contractual dispute”.

That dispute, with a previous contractor, was resolved in May of this year and the council announced at the time that 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 re-tender for the project, issued by Cork City Council on July 9, 2024, estimates the cost of the project at €5m, and gives a deadline for submissions of August 9.

The tender document gives a start date of October 1 of this year for the work, with an estimated time of 21 months to complete it.

However, the council’s director of services in its Housing Delivery and Regeneration Directorate last week informed Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, that “the project is currently in a live procurement process”.

When asked whether construction been delayed beyond its projected October 1 start date, and whether procurement was still ongoing, the director replied: “there is a live procurement process currently in train.

“I will therefore not be discussing the procurement process publicly, while it is live.” 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.

Mr Gould told The Echo it had been over two decades since he had attended the first regeneration meeting in Knocknaheeny.

“In that time, less than 100 homes have been delivered and the regeneration has stalled on Kilmore Road,” he said.

“The tender clearly says that building was supposed to recommence on October 1. Over a month later and there’s nobody on site and council can’t even indicate that contracts have been signed.

“We now need clarity on how much this has delay has cost and when construction will begin.”

A spokesperson for Cork City Council, which took over the Kilmore Road development in May, said it had “recently taken over the site, secured the site and has been undertaking necessary immediate safety, security and enabling works”.

The spokesperson added that a tender process for the procurement of a contractor had begun and was ongoing.

“Cork City Council does not propose to comment on a live procurement process.

“It has always been the aim of the city council on this site to provide a sustainable and high-quality place for the community to live and prosper in, and a further update will issue in due course by Cork City Council as matters progress,” they said.