The owner of a Cork city centre property which has lain derelict for almost 21 years has again been refused planning permission for its redevelopment.
City council planners said while they would like to see development of the site in Blackpool, on the city’s derelict sites register since 2003, the proposed four-storey building would represent overdevelopment and would be out of character with surrounding homes.
The decision was made despite the building owner’s architect warning if planning was refused again this time, the property could continue to languish in dereliction.
The mid-19th century former tenement fronting onto O’Mahony Square at Broad Lane, off Blackpool’s Great William O’Brien Street, known locally as The Castle, would have housed up to 16 families before it was converted to a warehouse and eventually fell into dereliction.
It was placed on the city council’s derelict sites register in September 2003. Only four other properties have been on the derelict sites register longer.
Owner Kieran O’Shea has tried unsuccessfully to secure planning for apartments on the site in 2008, 2010, 2016 and 2020, with planners raising concerns about the height and massing of the proposed new building, and its potential impact on neighbouring properties.
An application for a four-storey apartment scheme was lodged in 2021, but when planning was granted in 2022, it included a condition the top floor be omitted — a condition Mr O’Shea said rendered the entire project economically unviable.
But just before Christmas, he lodged plans again for the demolition of the warehouse and for the construction of four apartments in a four-storey block, with a report arguing that in the current economic climate, with construction costs rising, even a four-unit development was “on the cusp of economic sustainability” and a failure to develop the current proposal now could see the site languish in dereliction.
Planners said while this latest application was “effectively a resubmission” of the proposal granted conditional planning in 2022, it warranted consideration under the policies and objectives of the new Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.
They said while the four-storey height was compliant with the building height range for Blackpool, and in principle, a four-storey building was considered acceptable, the proposed building was “wholly out of proportion” with the existing mostly two-storey terrace dwellings.
They said the proposed residential density “far exceeds” the higher density target for Blackpool as set out in the city development plan and is considered excessive and inappropriate in regard to the prevailing character of the area.
“The design is effectively the same as what assessed in the 2021 application and no meaningful attempts have been made by the applicant to address the concerns raised previously,” a planner’s report said.
In conclusion, planners said by reason of its scale, design and bulk, the proposed development would represent overdevelopment of a small, restricted site, which would be out of character with the surrounding development, and planning was refused.