Developer seeks planning for 170 homes at former Cork Vita Cortex site

The site of the former Vita Cortex factory near the Kinsale Rd is the subject of an application for 170 homes in four tower blocks ranging in height from four to nine storeys.

The site, the location for one of the longest-running industrial disputes in the history of the State, back in 2011, is between Kinsale Rd and Pearse Rd. Developer BML Duffy Property Ltd lodged an application on Thursday to construct 51 one-bed apartments, 84 two-bedroom units, and 35 three-bed units.

The proposed development also includes a creche, a café, and management office on the ground floor of block three, and four retail units on the public plaza at ground-floor level.

The developer is also seeking permission for the inclusion of 514 bicycle parking spaces, located in four bike sheds, which would be either undercroft or ground-floor level. 

Car parking

The application is also seeking permission for the inclusion of 82 shared car-parking spaces, including 13 charging points for electric vehicles, and six wheelchair accessible spaces, three of those for electric vehicles.

Other associated features include an ESB substation, roads, green roofs, and solar panels. New access points for vehicles and pedestrians from Kinsale Rd and Pearse Rd are also being sought, as well as bin stores.

The proposed development will also facilitate the future expansion of BusConnects along the Kinsale Rd.

In 2011, the Vita Cortex factory, where foam for furniture and packaging was produced, was the scene of a peaceful, 160-day sit-in protest by workers who had been made redundant without pay just before Christmas. The dispute led to nationwide protests, a television appeal, and was the subject of debates in Dáil Éireann. Eventually, a resolution for an undisclosed sum was reached.