Jun 10
10

Meeting with the Cork County Board.

8 Comments

Last Monday week,  Cork City Councillors met with a delegation from the GAA County Board to discuss their proposed plans for Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

The GAA wish to redevelop and upgrade Pairc Ui Chaoimh to a 50,000 seater stadium and the development of a Centre of Excellence which would share stadium facilities including gymnasium, medical room, dining facilities and changing rooms.  In order for this redevelopment to go ahead, the GAA will require 6.82 acres of the publicly owned lands at the former Muster Agricultural Site. This acreage would include provision for circulation areas and a full GAA sized All Weather Playing Pitch that will be floodlit.

Recently the council members have been provided with reports from different department of City Hall, with regard to this proposed development, set out below.

Report from City Manager, Joe Gavin here

Report from Docklands Director of Services, Pat Ledwidge here

I am hugely supportive of the GAA’s wish to redevelop Pairc Ui Chaoimh, something that the stadium has been in need of for a great many years. At present, Cork does not have a stadium with the capability of hosting major sporting events. As the second largest region in the State, the absence of such a facility has been holding us back and has resulted in the City missing out on the revenues that accompany such major sporting events.   The potential to the City if the GAA do go ahead with this proposal is immense. From both an employment perspective during the construction stages and also the longer term benefits to the City from an economic perspective. Pairc Ui Chaoimh represents the best opportunity for the region to have a high-quality sporting and outdoor concert venue.

However I have concerns with regard to the all-weather pitch in terms of its impact on the planned Marina park.  The provision of a major sub-regional park centred on the Showgrounds has been central to all City Council plans since the idea of developing docklands was first put forward in the Docklands Development strategy 2001. This park would be a flagship project and would be a catalyst in changing the image of the Docklands. The park would be planted and landscaped to include amenity areas, waterways and it would also make provision for active recreation. It would link the showgrounds, the Atlantic Pond and the Marina into a large amenity area designed to the highest international standard to serve the City.

The GAA is one of the world’s greatest sporting organisations and I welcome the County Board proposal to redevelop Pairc Ui Chaoimh to provide a modern stadium with improved facilities for our players. However the accommodation of a full size all weather pitch is not compatible with the plans to develop a flagship park for the Docklands and the City. If the pitch goes ahead as proposed the opportunity to realise this vision will be lost, with consequences for the overall plans for Docklands.

To download the City Council’s “Public Realm Strategy” section of the South Docks Local Area Plan click here.

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Posted in Ballinlough Ballintemple Blackrock Douglas by Cllr Laura McGonigle 8 Comments

8 Responses to "Meeting with the Cork County Board."

  • Verna Sandvill says:
    December 4, 2010 at 12:02 AM
    Reply

    I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time.Thank you so much

  • cheap mac cosmetics says:
    June 17, 2010 at 6:35 PM
    Reply

    They never contacted local residents to explain their needs or apologise for any inconvenience. The Marquee is a great event but to propose adding further major concerts would really impinge on our lives here.

  • Larr C says:
    June 15, 2010 at 10:38 PM
    Reply

    Laura, you said above that ‘ the accommodation of a full size all weather pitch is not compatible with the plans to develop a flagship park for the Docklands and the City. If the pitch goes ahead as proposed the opportunity to realise this vision will be lost, with consequences for the overall plans for Docklands.’ Could you please update your website and explain exactly why it was you voted against the advice of the city manager, the docklands director of sevices and against your previous thoughts on the issue. It will take a very talented landscape planner to hide the floodlights and fences amongst the trees. Larr C

  • Peter C says:
    June 15, 2010 at 12:40 AM
    Reply

    Shameful news to hear that City Councillors went against the advice of the City Manager and voted for the devisive apartheid Cork GAA plan. Shameful. I presume you were one of the 17 who voted for it ?

  • Caroline D says:
    June 13, 2010 at 11:05 AM
    Reply

    I moved to Ballintemple a year ago and accepted that there would be a few matches and concerts in the area each year. These often cause me and my neighbours serious inconvenience but it was something we had accepted. But plans to add a new stadium, all-weather pitch, conference centre etc will have a major negative impact on our lives here. On a big match day such as today we have to make plans to get out of the house early for the day or to stay put. Cars park on footpaths and in our drives. Our children can’t play outside our homes and the Atlantic Pond is a no-go area due to drinkers and cars in the area. Funderland comes to the area each year and while teens do leave rubbish at bus stops etc the organisers send each resident a letter and free passes as a recognition that they are coming into our area. Yet the GAA brings up to 40,000 people with cars, buses, fastfood vans and vendors etc and all we get is a plan to increase this. They never contacted local residents to explain their needs or apologise for any inconvenience. The Marquee is a great event but to propose adding further major concerts would really impinge on our lives here.

  • Larr C says:
    June 12, 2010 at 4:33 PM
    Reply

    Hi Laura,
    I am baffled as to how this is even before the elected council for a vote since the land was purchased via CPO for the public realm. In my opinion the county board missed their opportunity to purchase the land directly from the Munster Agricultural Society at any stage within the last decade. The land is now part of the public realm planned for the docklands and any attempt to change that should be strongly opposed.
    Larr

  • Peter C says:
    June 11, 2010 at 6:39 PM
    Reply

    Laura,

    Just wrt your statement above

    “I am hugely supportive of the GAA’s wish to redevelop Pairc Ui Chaoimh, something that the stadium has been in need of for a great many years. At present, Cork does not have a stadium with the capability of hosting major sporting events.”

    You may not be aware but the Cork County Board are only interesting in the capability of hosting major GAA sporting events. In fact, when they heard that Nemo Rangers rented out their All Weather surface to the Irish Rugby (managed by one of Cork’s greatest sons), they reported Nemo to the GAA in Dublin.

    Are you happy to support such a bigoted organisation ?

  • Anne Walsh says:
    June 10, 2010 at 8:45 PM
    Reply

    I am very concerned at the proposed increase in size of Pairc Ui Chaoimh as we in Ballintemple are already plagued by traffic chaos when a match of the slightest significance is on there. Cars are abandoned anywhere, roads blocked for hours in all directions,before, during and for ages after a match. So where will the extra traffic go if this upgrade is approved? Not alone is access to the ground woefully inadequate, but there is no parking other than in our gateways and roads – we are effectively confined to home for the day. This problem must be addressed by the GAA who are happy to charge top dollar for match tickets.

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