New toilet facilities at Marina to be delivered this summer

Long sought additional toilet facilities are to be made available at The Marina by the end of the summer.

Cork City Council is to advance plans to accommodate toilet units at the western end of The Marina.

This comes following calls made by councillors across the Cork city South East ward for an urgent investment into public toilets along the new Marina Promenade.

At a recent council meeting, Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan tabled a motion, urging Cork City Council to “provide temporary toilets on the Marina ahead of the summer to address the absence of one on the promenade while works on providing one there is done, specifically a temporary toilet by Holland Park, Blackrock Village, and the Páirc Uí Chaoimh locations”.

At present, the newly developed Marina Promenade, which stretches 1.8km from the junction at Centre Park Rd to Blackrock Village, does not have any toilet facilities, however some toilets are available in the nearby Marina Park.

In a reply to Mr Horgan, Cork City Council said: “There are public toilets within the Central Hall of Marina Park.

“The second phase of the project is now well advanced as per the approved Part 8 planning consent for the project.

“Marina Park phase two does not contain additional toilet facilities.

“However, the city council is advancing plans to accommodate toilet units at the western end of the Marina at present and expects to have them operational within the next six to eight weeks.”

While Mr Horgan has welcomed the news of the new facility, he has called for more to be done.

“Cork City Council have told me that they are going to put in an additional toilet on the western side, that is really welcome news.

“However, you are looking at six to eight weeks until that is operational, that puts us at the end of August when summer is over.”

The Labour councillor is now renewing his calls for additional toilets to be made available near Holland Park, as the new playground is expected to open this week.

Mr Horgan said that toilets close to the playground were essential.

“The playground is due to open this week,” he said.

“We are encouraging people to come to The Marina and that encouragement of people to The Marina means we need toilets.

“Kids especially, they need to go to the toilet when they need to go to the toilet.”

Meanwhile, the owner of Cortado Coffee, which is based on The Marina, Alan Cashman, has also welcomed the plans.

“It is the missing amenity on The Marina.

“It will be great for us, but the main benefit of this will be to service the community.

“We have been asked numerous times by both customers and people visiting the area about toilets, so this is greatly welcomed by ourselves at Cortado.”

Similarly, Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy said: “I am constantly receiving messages from people asking when we will be getting toilets in the area and it needs to have toilets.

“With the investment that has been done on The Marina, it is a couple of million, so it warrants proper toilet facilities.

“We are very blessed to have had such an investment in The Marina, and we just need to finish it off now with proper toilets.”