City councillors want to meet county counterparts over planning refusal that has stalled 1,300 new homes

Cork city councillors have raised the need to meet with their county counterparts over a planning refusal in the county that means more than 1,300 homes in the city cannot go ahead.

Planning for a Goulding Soil Nutrition facility on the site of the former Irish Fertiliser Industries plant in Cork Harbour was refused in November 2024.

This refusal means more than 1,300 apartments planned for the current Goulding site in the docklands are delayed indefinitely.

An Bord Pleanála (ABP) said the R624 road would not be sufficient to cater to the increased traffic, noting that there are no current plans to upgrade the road.

Green Party Councillor Honore Kamegni got unanimous for his motion this week that Cork City Council “notes with disappointment” the consequences of the ABP decision, and “resolve to work constructively” on the issue.

He was told by the local authority’s executive that they “will continue to work proactively with all stakeholders to progress the delivery of housing, enabling infrastructure and the regeneration of the Cork Docklands.”

Labour councillor Peter Horgan suggested at this week’s meeting that the Cork City and County Council Committee would be the appropriate place to raise the issue, saying: “An issue with a road in the county is now affecting housing in the city.”

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Mr Horgan told The Echo that he is a member of this city/county committee.

“But it’s never met, he said. 

“We were put onto it when we were elected but due to a bit of disquiet over the boundary review and compensation, it’s never met.”

He added that as his ward borders Carrigaline, he thinks it’s important to have that open channel of communication between city and county councils.

He highlighted that there there “major traffic issues” there, saying that despite this, planning permission for hundreds of homes was granted in Maryborough Hill.

Mr Horgan also suggested that the ABP decision should be further queried for this reason, and also that upgrading the Fota road that caused the problems with the permission should be looked at as a matter of urgency, adding that his party colleague Cobh councillor Cathal Rasmussen had already been advocating for this for some time.

“The lack of action by successive governments on this road has affected the planning and housing delivery in the docklands, and there still seems to be a lack of action,” Mr Horgan added.

Independent Councillor Kieran McCarthy agreed, saying: “There’s an onus on us to keep pushing this, to find the ingredients to fix the problem and not just accept it — the docklands development is in full swing, we can’t wait 15 or 20 years to find a solution for Gouldings.

“I didn’t see anyone from higher up in the political pecking order calling for a solution, it’s like there’s just a line drawn under it, but we have a docklands plan than needs to be progressed — there’s never been as much happening there as there is at the moment but it needs to continue.

“In of city and county collaboration, I know the two executives communicate but we don’t talk to the councillors enough, we need to be regional focused as well as just the city.”