Developers resubmit plans to demolish former Cork convent to build student accommodation
A computer-generated image of the previously planned student apartment development on Cork's Model Farm Road, which was rejected in June.
Plans for a major student accommodation development at the former St Joseph’s convent on Model Farm Road have been resubmitted to Cork City Council after being refused permission by An Bord Pleanála in June this year.
Developers Lyonshall Ltd are seeking to demolish the former convent and construct a 408-bed, purpose-built student accommodation.
Original plans submitted in December last year sought the construction of a 450-bed development but were refused in June due to limited communal facilities that “failed to provide a satisfactory standard of residential amenity for the student population”.
The refined development plan includes two apartment buildings ranging from two to five storeys in height, which will include 57 apartments ranging from three to seven bedrooms. The development also includes 73 studio apartments, which will be served by open space and internal student amenities.
The proposed development will be accessed from Model Farm Road by a new vehicular/pedestrian access and provides for cycle and car parking spaces.
Elsewhere, planning has been lodged for the demolition of four buildings at the site of the QDS Cope Facility on Vicars Road in Togher to make room for the construction of a major mixed-use development scheme.
Developers Boars Head Limited are seeking permission to construct a discount food store and off-licence spanning almost 1,900 sq. m.
The retail element is part of a larger mixed-use development consisting of 35 residential units. These include 10 one-beds, 15 two-beds, nine three-beds and one replacement four-bed supported living unit.
The development also proposed the construction of a community hub and day service facility, as well as two small retail units in the form of a café and hair salon.
Access to the retail aspect of the overall development will be provided via Vicars Road located to the south with a secondary separate entrance proposed via Vicars Road to the west which will serve the remainder of the development.
The proposed units will be served by 93 car parking spaces, with the total site extending to more than 1.3 hectares.
Meanwhile, permission has been sought for the construction of a solar farm in North Cork.
Engie Developments Ireland Limited are seeking planning from Cork County Council to build a 13.8 mega-watt solar photovoltaic (PV) farm at a 21-hectare site in Berrings.
The application seeks a 10-year permission with an operational lifetime of 35 years and will include approximately 37,000 solar photovoltaic panels on ground-mounted metal frames, with a maximum table height above ground of approximately 2.7 metres.
It will also include a switch room, control room, transformer units and a temporary construction compound, as well as CCTV, internal tracks, landscaping and operational access provided from the existing site entrance off the L2760.
