CSR welcome the recent decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for the proposed development of 42 no. apartments at Brocklesby Street, Blackpool, Cork. The proposed development comprises four apartment blocks that would range in height from two to four storeys.

The proposed development will provide much needed residential accommodation at a well-located urban brownfield site in Cork City. Cunnane Stratton Reynolds provided Planning, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Services of behalf their client Compass Homes Ltd, working as part of a multidisciplinary team that included Mulcahy, Ralphs Architects, Denis O’Sullivan and Associates Consulting Engineers (DOSA) and G-Net 3D.

The An Bord Pleanála Inspector noted that “the proposed development seeks to regenerate a brownfield site within the inner suburb of Blackpool which is in close proximity to Cork City Centre. It would comprise an orderly addition to the residential stock of this area, providing for a range of apartment types and at a suitable density which acknowledges its inner city location and which is compatible with this location, a location that demands increased densities to achieve an appropriate scale of development”.

The Inspector went on to state that “Not alone does the proposed development meet with the City Development Plan objectives as they relate to residential development, it may reasonably be determined that it is in keeping with national policy, inclusive of the National Planning Framework, which seeks to increase residential density within urban areas and promotes attractive, high quality urban development. Furthermore, it is in keeping with national guidance inclusive of Urban Development and Building Heights Guidelines for Planning Authorities and Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas which seek to build up and consolidate existing urban areas and to develop sustainable neighborhood's within urban areas”.

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