Cork City Council approves plan for 140 new homes in Blarney

Cork city councillors have voted to approve nearly 140 homes in Blarney, as well as a new library, community café and creche.

The site is located at the site of the former Blarney Park Hotel on St Ann’s Road, Monacnapa, and is accessed by St Ann’s Road to the north.

The development, which will be carried out for Cork City Council by way of a project agreement with HRP Construction Limited, will require the removal of foundations of an already demolished structure, tarmac, and a pile of waste material. 

Under the plans, approved unanimously, a total of 138 dwelling units will be constructed, including 119 houses; four four-bed, 76 three-bed and 39 two-bed.

The remainder of the units will be delivered in a two to three-storey apartment block, with 12 one-bed apartments and seven two-beds.

Civic centre and library

The plans also consist of a civic centre containing a public library, community café and a 32-child creche.

The council received 15 submissions after a public consultation, which were “carefully considered and taken into account by the council”, a spokesperson said. Additional bike parking was added to the development as a result of changes from the public.

A community greenway request has been integrated into the plans, and a dedicated greenway corridor will run from the south-western corner of the site through to the main entrance on St Ann’s Road, delivering a public amenity and active travel route as well as connecting the development to the proposed Blarney Greenway network.

Three of the submissions indicated they were supportive of the development, with one submission stating that the proposal “provides a pleasant design that is walkable with permeability for visitors, and a well-considered balance between green spaces and housing”, while another three submissions requested details around purchasing a home in the development.

Working together

Fine Gael councillor for the area and Blarney local Damian Boylan told The Echo he was “delighted” to welcome the development.

“It was an excellent example of the local councillors and the executive of Cork City council working together, listening to each other and taking on board all of the opinions,” he said.

“The engagement with the local community through the open evening etc was a model on how things can be done.”

Council chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan said: “The proposed scheme will provide much-needed homes under the national delivering homes and building communities plan together with Cork City Council’s housing delivery action plan and will help contribute to dealing with the pent-up demand for housing in Cork city.”