Five-year ‘blueprint’ for Cork puts focus on docklands, public transport and housing

CORK city councillors have voted to approve the corporate plan, the council’s key strategic document for the period 2024–2029, which lists the docklands, public transport expansion, and new ways to deliver housing as key objectives.

The council’s “blueprint of our plans for the next five years” is the second of its kind since the extension of the city boundary in 2019, which increased the urban size fivefold overnight, and it notes that Cork city is poised to grow in population by 50%, to 335,000, over the next 15 years.

Along with managing this growth, the 98-page plan sets out the council’s mission to ‘make Cork city better’.

Priorities for investment include large-scale regeneration projects in Cork Docklands and Tivoli. These also include completion of the M28 Cork-to-Ringaskiddy project and delivery of the Great Island Connectivity Scheme.

A second major priority is the development of a “much-enhanced, citywide public transport system” based on the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy and including improved connectivity to Cork Airport.

The sustainable development of new brownfield and greenfield areas for housing along existing and planned, high-capacity public transport corridors and the identification of infill and regeneration opportunities in inner-city and inner suburban areas are also listed as key priorities.

Other goals include the development of a new science-and-innovation park to the west of the city, accessible by public transport, and the continued expansion of third-level institutions, including University College Cork (UCC) and Munster Technological University (MTU).

The plan also promises to “ensure that water-supply and waste-water needs are met by new strategic projects to enhance Cork’s water supply and increase wastewater-treatment capacity”.

Improved sustainability, in terms of energy, waste management, and resource efficiency and water, is another goal, tying in with one of the key objectives of the plan, which is to make Cork a more sustainable city.

A foreword by council chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan and Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy explains: “Cork city is in a period of rapid and unprecedented change, thanks to the alignment of national, regional, and local strategic policy frameworks and substantial exchequer funding.

“The National Planning Framework identifies the Cork region as the key driver for regional growth and the main counterbalance to the capital.

“Over €2.5bn will be invested in the city, so that Cork can manage this growth sustainably with infrastructure-led development, enabling residents to live close to public transport, walking and cycling links, and benefit from easy access to education, amenities, and healthcare facilities.”

The plan was informed by research and consultation, including surveys circulated to the public, and, at the close of the consultation period, 115 survey responses were received and a review of these responses was conducted and has been used to guide the corporate plan.

The plan notes completed developments, such as the opening of the Marina Promenade, as well as ongoing ones, like the Cork Docklands and the fact that the National Transport Authority has committed €3.5bn of investment to the delivery of the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy.

“Cork is a small city with a big heart and huge ambition.

 "That ambition is necessary to secure the additional investment required to ensure Cork city is a second city that can compete with the best in Europe,” the foreword adds.

A continuing focus on education is listed among key objectives, with the report noting that Cork is home to 40,000 students and graduates of further and higher education institutions, including UCC and MTU and Cork Education and Training Board.

Business is also a priority, with the report noting: “Cork’s economy is driven by strong sectoral clusters in ICT, cybersecurity, pharmaceuticals, biopharma, fintech, and creative industries.

“In 2023, Ireland saw a 2.5% increase in investments, totalling 248 wins, which created nearly 19,000 jobs, while over 1,800 IDA client companies maintained a direct employment of more than 300,000 for the second year, demonstrating a resilient FDI sector.”

As well as the importance of large international companies, the corporate plan highlights the importance of smaller, home-grown enterprise, supported by the Local Enterprise Office situated within Cork City Council.

The report also says that housing and public transport “are key to Cork’s development as a business city”, and that the Cork Docklands is Ireland’s largest regeneration project, planned to accommodate 22,500 residents in a connected urban district.

Housing is a “critical” part of future goals for Cork, the document notes, explaining that the council “has clear challenges with respect to this provision of homes and communities across all tenures and sectors”, due to the population increase projected alongside housing difficulties.

It notes that, nationally, Cork City Council is one of the leading local authorities in social-housing delivery, with more than 10,602 houses currently, saying that “delivery of both social and affordable housing, in partnership with the Land Development Agency and approved housing body sectors, remains a key objective”.

SOCIAL HOUSING

Increasing social-housing delivery, supporting home ownership and increasing affordability, addressing vacancy, and making efficient use of existing housing stock are listed as key objectives, as is ensuring that people are supported to find pathways out of homelessness; that people are able to move sustainably and efficiently in and out of the city, and that people have access to green spaces and recreation spaces.

The document outlines a need to further develop Cork as a city of culture, heritage, and sport, through grant programmes and by sponsoring large events. 

The council is responsible for managing 2,000 acres of parks, amenity areas, playgrounds, greenways, sports pitches, allotments, cemeteries, municipal golf courses, and other leisure-and-sports facilities.

The council’s sports team will focus on promoting participation with key target groups, such as women, youth at risk, Traveller and Roma communities, migrants, Rapid areas (Revitalising Areas Through Planning, Investment, and Development), families in homelessness, and those in direct provision or Ukrainian accommodation centres.