Construction update: Cork plans aimed at tackling housing crisis

As set out in Budget 2025, €7.9bn was allocated to the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage this year, with the aim of increasing housing supply and addressing affordability across the country.

To date, a sizeable amount of applications have been submitted to both Cork City Council and Cork County Council for large scale residential developments (LRDs), some comprising upwards of 300 new homes, including a mix of houses, apartments, and duplexes.

In April, the Land Development Agency (LDA) applied for a seven-year planning permission for an LRD at a greenfield site in Wilton.

The application sought permission for the construction of a development consisting of 348 units on the undeveloped land, adjoining the ESB DAC office at Farrandahadore More on Sarsfield Road.

The site was previously owned by the energy utility company but was transferred to the agency following an agreement which was reached in August of last year.

The LRD 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 ranging in height from five to six storeys tall.

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.

Cork City Council have since made a request for further information in relation to the application, with a decision anticipated on the development before the end of the summer.

Within the same month, more than 230 homes were announced for Cork as part of a major investment into the provision of social housing across the country.

The announcement, made by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, detailed that €436m will be allocated to meet social housing needs nationwide.

Among the homes planned under the announcement, 234 homes were announced for Cork city and county, to be delivered over the period of 2025–2027.

At the time of the announcement, Fine Gael Cork North West TD, John Paul O’Shea said that the homes allocated for Cork under this scheme will be facilitated by an investment of more than €30m.

“The funding announced for Cork, where 234 new social homes will be built, is a vital part of our ongoing efforts to address housing shortages across the country,” said Mr O’Shea.

“The delivery of these new homes in Cork will be facilitated by an investment of €35m, ensuring that local communities have the necessary resources to address housing needs.”

The building of the homes in Cork will come under a wider funding allocation of €111m, announced by Mr Browne for 82 new social housing projects, which will see a total of 1,300 homes built across Ireland, to a total development cost value of €517m.

Construction on some of these projects is set to commence this year.

More recently, an application seeking to construct close to 250 homes in West Cork was submitted to Cork County Council by HB Cloheen Developments Ltd.

The development, located in Cloheen near Clonakilty, will feature 246 residential dwellings, including 177 houses, consisting of three five-bed dwellings; 41 four-bed dwellings; 90 three-bed dwellings; 31 two-bed dwellings; and 12 one-bed sheltered housing units.

The plans also include six two-storey four-unit apartment blocks, consisting of 24 two-bed units, and three three-storey 15-unit apartment blocks, consisting of 36 two-bed units and nine one-bed units.

The proposed development will further include a creche spanning 473 sqm, with capacity to accommodate 65 children.

Cork County Council is due to make a decision on the application by August 6.

Another application for a 170-unit LRD at the site of the former Vita Cortex Factory between the Kinsale Road and Pearse Road, was submitted to Cork City Council.

Developer BML Duffy Property Ltd lodged an application with the local authority earlier this month seeking 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 further seeking permission for the inclusion of 514 bicycle parking spaces, located in four bike sheds, which would be either undercroft or ground-floor level.

Cork City Council is also due to make a decision on this application by August 6.

Further this month, conditional planning permission was granted for a LRD in Douglas.

The plans, lodged by Barrys Field Ltd in January, were given the green-light by Cork City Council on June 4.

The development will see the construction of 124 apartments, comprising a mix of one-, two-, and three-bed units at a site along the Carrigaline Road and Churchyard Lane in Douglas.

The complex, ranging in height from one to five storeys, will also feature an on-site café and two commercial office spaces.

Site development works will include the implementation of two new uncontrolled pedestrian crossings; footpath improvements on Churchyard Lane, which will require the removal of six existing on-street car parking spaces; and the connection and construction of a new storm water and foul sewer along the Carrigaline Road.

Cork City Council approved the application subject to 48 conditions. One condition stipulated that, in the interest of sustainable transport, all parking for the development will be for residents only and shall not be reserved for any individual or individual residential units.

This condition also stipulated that five parking spaces are to be set aside as designated electric vehicle charging points.

There were additionally several applications submitted and decided on by the relevant local authority for smaller residential developments, including the approval of 90 new cost rental homes in Blackrock and seven new council homes in Knocknagree village.

Applications were also opened earlier this week by Clúid Housing for almost 30 new cost rental homes at Longview in Ballyvolane, with the first residents expected to get their keys by late August.