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Permission Granted For Crosshaven Housing Development

Writes Ciaran Dineen


Cork County Council recently announced their decision to grant conditional permission for the construction of up to 99 housing units on Church Bay Road, in the latest new addition of housing development in Crosshaven. The application is an intensification of permission that had already been granted previously for the construction of 73 units.


The area planner on the case had recommended, following various back and forths with the developer, that permission should only be granted for 88 units unless O’Flynn construction were willing to change the design of units 1-11 as part of the overall development.


However, the Senior Planner while noting issues around design, indicated that he was prepared to grant these units as he was satisfied with the landscaping proposal to mitigate concerns. There has been widespread local concerns that road access to the proposed site is inadequate.


The original application for permission was applied for in July last year and consists of a mix of housing units including detached, semi-detached, terraced and duplex. Several requests for further information have been requested since the initial application in July, the last of which consisted of the need for the developer to produce an Archaeological Impact Assessment, along with a Geophysical Survey.



A number of submissions from the public were issued as part of the process last year. The overwhelming theme that emerged from concerns raised related to the pressure the development would put on road infrastructure, creating safety concerns along Church Bay Road. Arguments were made that the road as it stands cannot cope with the current volume of traffic alone and that an intensification would make matters worse .


Councillor Audrey Buckley, member of Cork County Council and resident in Crosshaven explored some of the key concerns that she and many others had highlighted in opposition. In her submission, she noted that many local people living along Church Bay Road had no private driveway and as a result have parked alongside the road for many years. The proposed development would no longer permit these residents to be able to do so in the future and Cllr Buckley questioned how these people would now be accommodated.


Furthermore, she indicated her concerns over the sharp corner which is located just passed the proposed entrance to the site and that it was her opinion that this had not been taken into account appropriately in terms of safety for walkers and cyclists. Finally, in terms of amenity development that the Councillor felt weren’t at all considered in the proposed development, Cllr Buckley suggested that an area pencilled in for ‘Biodiversity’ should instead facilitate an amenity that would “adequately give back to the community such as a basketball court or skatepark for teenagers and a playground for younger children.”


Although the permission was granted with 68 conditions, it would appear that concerns raised by Cllr Buckley and other similar observations by local residents have not been reflected in changes requested by the Council.


The design of a temporary access road which will impact road users along Church Bay Road will have to be submitted to the Council prior to the commencement of the project, with a stop and go system required to be in place at a proposed temporary junction between the diversion road and Church Bay Road.


If the decision is appealed, it will be adjudicated on by An Bord Pleanála.



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