Bandon no to new ‘town’ at Annaghmore

By Leo MCMahon Saturday September 13th, 2008

DURING a week in which there was widespread flooding of roads and agricultural land in the area, Bandon town councillors at their meeting on Tuesday, unanimously and strongly opposed a proposal for a new ‘town’ at Annaghmore, near Innishannon.

They urged other bodies in Bandon and Co. Cork to state likewise in a submission on proposed amendments to the County Development Plan on the basis it has major development implications not only for the town and neighbouring villages but the county as a whole.

By a vote, Cork County Council, at a special meeting on August 8, decided to include the proposal for a new ‘settlement’ at Annaghmore into the draft plan and public submissions on this and other amendments to the plan must be lodged with the council by September 26. O’Flynn Construction has a proposal to build on a 200 hectares site, 1,500 homes for a community of around 3,000 people, retails units plus sports and leisure facilities in a project estimated to generate almost 500 jobs on what is currently agricultural land just off the main N71 and 12 kilometres north east of Bandon.

Mr. Andrew Coleman, who was chairman of the then town commissioners when a much larger proposal for Annaghmore was discussed and opposed in 2001, said he remained strongly of the view that the latest proposal was not in keeping with the county development plan and would be hugely detrimental to Bandon in particular.

Major development so close to the flood plain of the Owenabue River would have a knock-on effect in the immediate area and downstream as far as Carrigaline and referring to the report of the county manager Mr. Martin Riordan to the meeting in August, agreed with his opinion, which was not in favour of the proposal.

WATER

‘Where will the water go?’ asked Mr. Bob Deane, who said that, on the day in question, there was a sea of surface water on sections of the road between Innishannon and Cork. Already, there were long tailbacks and delays from as far out as the Viaduct to Bishopstown and this development would eventually put between 1,000 and 1,500 more vehicles on the road. Only a rail link could help reduce this but this wasn’t in the plan. Overall, he believed the proposal was ‘not on’, would be totally out of keeping and would upset development proposals in Ballincollig, Kinsale, Carrigaline and Bandon.

Dr. Anthony Calnan and Ms. Rose Holland said they agreed with the views expressed as did Mrs. Margaret Murphy-O’Mahony, who added: ‘I cannot think of one reason why this proposal is needed nor warranted. We already have a lot of houses in Bandon unoccupied so I am totally against it.’

Mr. Pat Connolly concurred, saying the proposal for Annaghmore would draw on infrastructure that could and needed to be spent in Bandon and other existing towns and villages. They had already seen in Ballincollig and Carrigaline, where massive development had taken place, the need to have infrastructure and services in place and there was need to learn from mistakes and deal with the deficit in Bandon first. He and other members thanked the divisional manager, Mr. Declan Daly, for sending on the county manager’s observations.

Town manager Mr. Noel O’Keeffe said submissions were being sought from Bandon TC and the public at large on the amendments to the draft county development plan. He supported the view of the county manager that the Annaghmore proposal was at variance with both the county and Cork Area Strategic Plan (CASP) and was generally inconsistent with proper planning and sustainable development of the county.

He contended it wasn’t a settlement, but another town which would draw from the development and population growth not only of Bandon but also Kinsale, the proposed strategic employment centre for West Cork in Clonakilty, Macroom and even Youghal. He agreed with councillors that the N71 Cork-Bandon highway was already choc-o-bloc and its upgrading to a dual carriageway unlikely for many years to come.

SERVICES

Another concern, continued Mr. O’Keeffe was water services. The Innishannon Waste Water Treatment plant was geared towards serving the Bandon River catchment area and this development would impact on this, while the catchment of nearby Owenabue River didn’t have the assimilative capacity. On that basis, it would be necessary to pipe waste water over the hill into Bandon catchment which in his opinion, was also not in accordance with the need to improve river water quality as outlined in the Waste Water Directive and South West River Basin Management Plan.

The town manager went on to say that the proposed development would, apart from Bandon take potential development away from Crossbarry, Ballinhassig, Half Way, Ballygarvan and other nearby villages.

‘I have yet to speak to one person who is in favour of this development,’ added Mr. Connolly, while Mr. Coleman suggested other bodies in Bandon and the general public be encouraged to make submissions. Mayor Liz O’Brien said neighbouring Kinsale, Clonakilty, Macroom and other towns authorities in the county should also be made aware and this was agreed.

On a proposal by Mr. Coleman, seconded by Mrs. Murphy-O’Mahony, Bandon TC unanimously agreed to send a submission to the planning policy unit of the county council stating that it deplored the inclusion of the Annaghmore proposal because it was contrary to the county development plan and CASP, would not make sense in terms of infrastructure, such as water, waste water and roads and wasn’t in line with the waste water directive to improve the quality of rivers in the catchment area. It was also agreed to notify other local authorities in the county.

Local county councillor Veronica Neville has also voiced her opposition to the proposal.

• Members of the public are invited to view updated draft proposals for Bandon town at a public exhibition of maps and plans in Bridwell Court, Pearse Street, on Friday and Saturday, September 26 and 27. The plans have been drawn up by consultants Matrix on behalf of Bandon Action Group and Cork County Council. It was agreed on a proposal by Mr. Coleman that a presentation should also be made to Bandon TC members.

Annaghmore Again! Councillors put idea of new town to public (again)

Councillors put the Annaghmore proposal forward for public consultation in spite of Cork county manager Martin Riordan and county mayor Noel Harrington's misgivings. Annaghmore is located on the N71 from Cork city to Bandon, Clonakilty and west Cork. The 200-hectare greenfield site is 17km (10.6 miles) southwest of Cork city.

The O'Flynn Construction proposal includes the building of 1,500 housing units, creating jobs for 460 local people in services, construction and enterprise. The developer says the settlement will include sport, leisure and recreational facilities, and provision will be made for schools, churches and other community services.Mr Riordan said in his report to council members, however, that it was his belief that the new settlement proposed at Annaghmore was generally inconsistent with proper planning and the sustainable development of the county."Annaghmore will have an adverse impact on existing settlements and communities," Mr Riordan said.The growth of the ring towns, particularly Kinsale and Bandon, would be significantly reduced below the levels proposed in the Cork Area Strategic Plan (Casp), and these towns would not realise their full economic and social potential."The proposal for Annaghmore will also have a strong negative impact on the future population and viability of the villages and rural areas that make up the Casp ring strategic planning area, particularly nearby villages like Halfway and Crossbarry," he added.Mr Riordan said the proposal would not act as a "stepping stone" to assist the development of west Cork but would compete with the balanced development of existing towns in the county.

He also said one of the principal effects on west Cork would be increased congestion on the Cork to Bandon section of the N71.

However, supporters of the project say Annaghmore would assist in a new strategy to meet the projected housing needs of the Cork area.Both the developers and the supporting councillors say Annaghmore could assist in the plan to develop nearby Clonakilty as a strategic employment centre to serve west Cork. Joe Carroll (FF) told members of the chamber that he was in favour of the project on the basis of the possibility that it would initiate a new road network in the area.

Kevin O'Keeffe (FF) maintained it was important to at least give the public a chance to access the proposals before further decisions were made. Residents of the surrounding areas who attended the council meeting yesterday had a range of concerns, one of which was the risk of flooding.Annaghmore in the original Irish means "big bog" and the Ordnance Survey map for the area contains the inscription "liable to flood" As there is no rail link to the area, opponents also feel the proposed development is likely to cause serious traffic congestion. After two hours of debate on the matter, councillors voted 23-13 in favour of putting the proposal forward for public consultation. The proposals will be made public in the coming weeks with a further vote likely to be held at Cork County Hall in October.

Annaghmore Links

Residents oppose Cork town development

Annaghmore - from the people who didn't make money out of it