Cork City regional park dependent on completion of new road

The construction of a North West Regional Park is “dependent” on the Cork Northern Distributor Road, which is not expected to be complete until the mid-2030s, Cork City Council has said.

This summer, the council asked the public for their input on the proposed park, which will be consist of 116 hectares, 2.25km from Cork city centre, north of Kilmore Heights and south of Lower Killeens Rd.

A multi-disciplinary consultancy design team was appointed in mid-2024 and since then, visits have been undertaken to the area to gain an understanding of the site and surrounding areas, with a masterplan currently being established.

Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins had asked officials at a recent city council meeting to outline how the Northern Distributor Road would complement and not hinder the full development of the park.

Boundary

The council’s director of infrastructure development Gerry O’Beirne explained that the need for a new park in the northwest of the city was first identified by Cork County Council in 2017, and when the city boundary was extended, “this objective was further reviewed and it was concluded that, with the benefit of improved access from the Northern Distributor Road and in light of the scale of planned population growth, there was an opportunity for a larger scale regional park.

“As a result, the scope and ambition for the proposed park was expanded from a local city park to a more significant regional park of similar scale to Ballincollig Regional Park,” providing enhanced recreational facilities.

“The North Wes t Regional Park, as now planned, is dependent on the Cork Northern Distributor Road.

“The scope/scale of the facility envisaged in the development plan is feasible/viable because of the improved multimodal access provided by the distributor road and with the benefit of an expanding population catchment.”

He added that the roadway will support the development of a diverse range of recreational uses, saying: “The two planned projects are of significant scale and importance and they have the potential to be transformative for the northern part of Cork city, requiring state investment in the region of €300m-€500m.

“The projects are at the design stage and continued support from all stakeholders including the community, council members, state agencies, and government will be essential to bring them to fruition.”

Preferred route

The preferred route for the Cork Northern Distributor Road, which was confirmed by the Government as being costed at between €200m and €500m, was announced in December.

The proposed 14km road will run from the Carrigrohane Rd west of the city to Glanmire in the east, crossing the northside via Hollyhill, Dublin Hill, and Banduff.

However, ground is not expected to be broken on the project, which is likely to take five years, until 2032 at the earliest.

Mr Collins told The Echo that the response was concerning for the park given this timeline and the fact that the road had been in discussions for “donkeys’ years” already.

“I’m not happy that they’re saying the two of them have to work hand-in-hand or it’s not going to happen at all. Ballincollig regional park doesn’t have a road going through it, I think it’s a recipe for disaster,” Mr Collins said. 

“The park needs to go ahead without waiting on the road, because that could be further delayed as some people aren’t happy with the proposed route.”