Seven-year planning sought for over 300 housing units in Cork suburb

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has applied for a seven-year planning permission for a large-scale residential development (LRD) at a greenfield site in Cork city.

The application, submitted to Cork City Council this week, seeks permission for the construction of a development consisting of 348 units in Wilton.

The undeveloped land, adjoining the ESB DAC office at Farrandahadore More on Sarsfield Rd, was owned by the energy utility company — but was transferred to the agency following an agreement which was reached in August of last year.

The development will include a mix of cost rental apartments, two-storey townhouses, and social housing apartments, alongside a 156sq m childcare facility.

The development will consist of 16 two-storey three-bedroom townhouses and 332 apartment units, broken into 152 one-bedroom apartments, 168 two-bedroom apartments, and 12 three-bedroom apartments, arranged in three apartment blocks.

The three apartment blocks will range in height from five to six storeys tall, with parking available at ground floor level in the central and western blocks, as well as the childcare facility located at ground floor level in the central block.

The site is bounded to the south by the ESB Wilton offices and depot, to the east by the Sarsfield Rd, to the west by Cardinal Court and to the north by the St Joseph’s SMA Wilton parish centre.

The proposed development also includes plans for public and communal open spaces, as well as the provision of podium gardens in the central and western apartment blocks.

The plans also include provisions for future pedestrian connections that would facilitate permeability through the site to adjoining lands to the western boundary, subject to agreement with those parties and/or Cork City Council, as appropriate.

The existing gated vehicular entrance to the site on the eastern boundary to Sarsfield Rd will be reconfigured to provide cycle and pedestrian only access.

The proposed vehicular, cycle, and pedestrian access into the development is via a reconfigured shared access with the ESB facility to the south-east.

This reconfiguration includes changes to the existing boundary treatments and gates to the ESB site, relocation of security barriers and an existing prefabricated security kiosk within the ESB site.

Cork City Council is due to make a decision on the application, which is currently at the pre-validation stage, by June 16.