Written submissions in relation to the Draft Plan may be made to the Administrative Officer, Recreation & Sport Division, City Hall, Anglesea Street, Cork before 4pm on Wednesday, 26th June 2013 or by email to: recreation@corkcity.ie
To download a copy of the original Draft Marina Park Masterplan click here. (It’s a 65mb file so it may take some time to download depending on your connection speed)
A reduced file size version can be found here (5.5mb)
The handout is available here
Considering “the Sports are the biggest track and field athletics competitions in Europe that are held on one day.” and even after the events of last year this years Cork City School Sports day press release has no mention of a traffic management plan, temporary parking or advice for people to park legally.
If the proper planning was put in place the site used for Funderland/Marquee could be used for parking on the day. Funderland were able to provide temporary parking in the Showgrounds, when they visited Cork over Easter. The Showgrounds is Public land so a similar arrangement could be agreed with Cork City Council.
Press release from organisers of Cork City School Sports
Lúthchleasa Bhunscoileanna Chorcaí
Wednesday next, 22ndh May, will be an action-packed day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Almost 6,000 children from over 300 schools throughout the City and County will participate in the Cork Primary Schools Sports. The first race begins at 9am and the event will come to a close at 5pm approximately.This is a fantastic family day and a memorable day for all schools that participate in the event.2013 will be the 86th year of the Primary School Sports. The Sports were founded in 1927 by a group of teachers from some Cork City Schools :J.J Fennessy, St. Patrick’s BNS
Joe Donoghue, Douglas
Dinny Kelly, Glasheen and Togher.
The Cork Primary School Sports have been held every year since except during the war years. Originally the event was held in the Mardyke until numbers became too large in the early 1980’s. It was then moved to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The committee of Lúthchleasa Bhunscoileanna Chorcaí are hugely grateful to Mr. Frank Murphy and the County Board for the use of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Their generosity contributes hugely to the success of the day. The staff at Páirc Uí Chaoimh are always at the ready to lend any assistance and their help is greatly appreciated.
The Sports are the biggest track and field athletics competitions in Europe that are held on one day. Schools are graded in Roinns (sections) on the basis of their size/enrolment and also on the basis of the previous years results.
Prizes are given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places and the winners of each section compete in the County Final in the different age-groups. Obviously there is immense competition to achieve the much sought after title of County Champion. County medals are valued and treasured!
There are many famous trophies still in existence which schools receive for their success at the event. The Dean Sexton Cup dates back many years and the I.N.T.O cup is a replica of the Ardagh Chalice. Many new cups/trophies have been added over the years, such as Br. Canisius Cup and the Michael Jackson Cup.
Michael Jackson is one of the legends of the Cork Primary Schools Sports. Mr. Jackson was Principal of Farranree Boys School. He became Treasurer of the Sports in 1953 and a reliable source informs us that there was 39 shillings in the Sports Bank Account! Michael kept the Sports going, he ran the day like clockwork and gave generously and tirelessly of his time. He passed away in 2011 and is sadly missed. He will always be remembered for his huge contribution to the Cork Primary School Sports.
Many other Teachers are synonymous with the Sports throughout the years – Paddy O’ Shea who was acting secretary for many years, Theo Lynch (a brother of Jack) from Blackpool, Jim Crockett from Morning Star School and Ted O’ Sullivan from Togher BNS.
In the present time, the Sports are stronger than ever with a vibrant and efficient Committee. Ann-Marie Knightly is the hard-working and dedicated Secretary. The Sports are self-financing. Each participating school sells tickets which enable the Committee purchase medals and trophies, pay for insurance and many other expenses incurred in the running of the event. The trophy bill alone is €15,000.
Children have participated in heats in their schools to qualify to run in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Much preparation by Teachers and Pupils leads up to the main event. The day itself is run like clockwork. The programme is followed literally to the minute. This year the Boys will run first and the Girls will run in the afternoon. Both participate in sprints and relay races. It is an amazing sight to see the children emerging from the tunnel in an orderly fashion as they line up in their lanes. Races are run off at an admirable pace.
Approximately 120 stewards (all Teachers) are present on a voluntary basis for the day under the capable stewardship of Chief Steward, Mr. John Daly.
Some children from North, South, East and West of the County will be leaving their homes as early as 6.30am to make the journey to Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Wednesday next. All are welcome to attend this fantastic event. Be prepared for the air of excitement! It is a unique day.
An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland, is asking Cork City Council to redraw the masterplan for Cork’s Marina Park to ensure the public park is not split in two by a proposed GAA facility.
The proposed GAA campus, which incorporates an all-weather pitch, as well as a host of other key facilities, is a welcome development and can be delivered in such a way as not to sever the public amenity of Marina Park.
An Taisce is asking Cork City Council to ensure that the project is developed as envisioned in an earlier draft of the South Docklands Local Area Plan, and as originally zoned for by the City Council.
The Council’s subsequent re-zoning of public land allows has the effect – unintended but nonetheless adverse – of splitting the public park in two, thus drastically compromising its intended function as a much needed public amenity serving communities in the docklands area and its environs.
An alternative siting of the centre of excellence and second pitch, such as at the city end of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, would both accommodate the GAA and respect the functional integrity of the Marina Park and its proximity to the Atlantic Pond. The alternative approach would also meet with the approval of the many local residents who oppose the present draft plan, and An Taisce commends it to the Council.
ENDS
For further information, please call:
Kevin Connolly, An Taisce Cork Tel: +353 87 74177 13
James Nix, Director of Operations, An Taisce Tel: + 353 86 8394129
Email: publicaffairs@antaisce.org
An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland
Despite spending in excess of €250,000 on landscape consultants in 2012 the City Manager, Tim Lucey, has ignored their recommendations and the recommendations of his own Planning Department in relation to the development of the showgrounds in Ballintemple as a new city park and instead has bowed to pressure from the GAA to increase their land take and reduce the area left open for the public park.
It is obvious from the re-drafted master plan, which was pulled from the Council in December 2012 at the request of the GAA, that the area to be used by the public to move freely between the existing Atlantic pond area and the proposed park towards the city end of the showgrounds has been cut from being over 60 feet (20m) wide to less than 40 feet (13m). It now looks as though this narrow channel will have a proposed 32m (almost 100 feet) high stadium on one side with over hanging seating looking onto the GAA’s proposed “centre of excellence“. The effect of this narrowing and overhanging will be to create a barren windswept little alleyway between the two pitches that will be neither inviting for people out for a stroll in the new park nor successful in creating a visual link between the new and old section of the marina park. On top of this, the public will only have access to this part of the park when it suits the GAA.
The whole re-drafting process to satisfy the GAA stinks of the sort of cronyism that we had all hoped had gone the way of the planning tribunals when developers held sway over Council’s to the detriment of the wider community. It looks like a-tug-of-the-elbow for a quiet word is how the GAA and the City Manager in Cork like to do their business. The 150+ objections to the initial re-zoning process in 2012 from the surrounding community also fell on deaf ears with the City Manager preferring to keep the County Board happy over the people who pay his wages, the People of Cork!
While we welcome the proposed traffic plans to be submitted with any planning application for the re-development of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the second pitch and the fact that Councillors raised the issue of parking with the City Manager the fact remains that we are still being besieged in our community by visiting fans who are forced to drive into the cul-de-sac of Blackrock/Ballintemple for matches in the absence of anything resembling a coherent traffic plan by the GAA, the City Council and the Gardaí.
We have always been pro-sport, pro-GAA and pro-community. We have, in our meetings to date, always sought compromise with all the stakeholders but it looks like it’smy way or the highway with the GAA on everything to do with the re-development of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We have no doubt that this will eventually go all the way to An Bord Pleanála and possibly beyond.
ENDS
Note to editor: The Save Marina Park Group was formed following a public meeting in October 2011 arranged by Cllr.Des Cahill (FG) and attended by Cllr. Denis O’Flynn (LAB), Cllr. Chris O’Leary (SF) and Bob Ryan of the GAA Cork County Board that highlighted the proposed re-zoning issue and the proposed re-development of the stadium.
Items on the agenda for Monday the 22 April Cork City Council meeting include the Cork City Events Centre & Marina Park / Cork GAA County Board redevelopment. These two items are more closely related than you might imagine.
The City Council plan to contribute to the development of an Events Centre in the City by providing €6,000,000 in funding to a private developer. At the same time Cork City Council are supporting the Cork GAA County Board (another private developer) by providing 7 acres of the Showgrounds so that they can develop a one pitch ‘Centre of Excellence‘ next to Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
The problem here is that the Cork GAA County Board plan to generate revenue by using the Showgrounds, land that they acquired from the City Council at a knock down price, to host Marquee style and outdoor events as they know the days of filling the Stadium for concerts multiple times a year with 40,000 people have long since passed. Their intention is to use the Showgrounds for medium size concerts ranging from 8,000 to 20,000 so as to pay for the €70,000,000 investment in the Pairc Ui Chaoimh redevelopment.
This will be in direct competition with the City funded Events Centre therefore threatening the Events Centres viability.
EcCoWell is about integrating strategies across ecology & economy (Ec), community & culture (Co) well-being & lifelong learning (Well). The concept has been developed by Peter Kearns out of work done by the OECD & PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) on lifelong learning. The approach provides a platform for integrating strategies such as Healthy City, Green City, Learning City and the Economic Development to create a blueprint that fosters quality of life and wellbeing for people in the Cork region.
An EcCoWell Cork leadership group has been working on ways of applying this concept to the Cork City region. Peter Kearns, who formulated the concept, was the keynote speaker at a seminar organised in Cork as part of the 10th Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, on Wednesday March 21st, 2013. He is co-director of PIE, and a leading Australian thinker, researcher, and consultant in lifelong learning and learning communities. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contribution to education & is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.
As a follow-up to the seminar an international EcCoWell Conference and Ideas Exchange will take place in Cork City on September 26 & 27, 2013
Date 04th March 2013
Re: Request For Access to Information – Environment (AIE) Regulations, 2007-2011
A.I.E 01/13
Decision
A decision has been made to part grant your request.
1) All minutes, record notes (formal and informal), e-mails, diary entries and other
documents relating to meetings between Cork City Council representatives and/
or their agents, GAA representatives and/or their agents, Cork County Board
representatives and/or their agents.
This information is refused as it does not fall under the definition of environmental
information as set out in the AIE regulations.
2) All minutes, record notes (formal and informal), e-mails, diary entries and
other documents relating to that included any or all of the following organisations,
companies, their representatives and/or their agents: Redscape, OKRA, O’Connor
Sutton Cronin (engineers), Venhoeven CS (architects), Howley Hayes (conservation
architects), Fehily Timoney (environment and ecology), Modus Operandi (art
consultants), and Davis Langdon PKS (quantity surveyors) or any other members of
the Marina Park design team.
The report of Howley Hayes (Architectural Heritage Assessment) is attached.
Ecological, Drainage and Appropriate Assessment Screening reports are in
preliminary/draft form and are refused as they are classed as material in the course
of completion. These will be released to you on completion.
Other information is refused as it does not fall under the definition of environmental
information as set out in the AIE regulations.
3) All minutes of meetings that included any or all of the following organisations,
companies, their representatives and/or their agents: Malachy Walsh & Partners,
Consulting Engineers and Scott Tallon Walker Architects or any other members of
the Pairc Ui Chaoimh redevelopment team”
This information is refused as it does not fall under the definition of environmental
information as set out in the AIE regulations.
Right of Appeal
You may appeal this decision. In the event that you need to make such an appeal, you can do so
by writing to:
Ms. Valerie O’Sullivan,
Director of Services,
Corporate & External Affairs,
Cork City Council,
City Hall,
Cork.
You should make your appeal within 1 month from the date of this notification. The appeal will involve a complete reconsideration of the matter by a more senior member of staff of Cork City Council.
Yours sincerely,
________________________
NOREEN MULCAHY
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER
Pairc Ui Chaoimh is due to be redeveloped by the GAA Cork County Board but considering the issues around the Stadium such as access, flooding and the lack of transport links is this the best location in the City for developing and modern stadium.
If the City Council and County Board were to decide on a new location for a 45,000 seat Stadium in Cork City the following factors would need to be taken into account.
Using Google maps it’s possible to identify a number of locations in and around the City. The old City Dump, Curraheen, Kent station and the docklands would be a few but these all have issues such as access, size (kent station) subsidence (building on a City Dump) and location, curraheen is too far removed from the City. Cork City FC already had a failed attempt at moving to this location. One location that has potential for a Stadium development and fulfills all the requirements set out above is Tivoli, the current location for the Port of Cork container terminal. Tivoli is on the opposite side of the River Lee to Pairc Ui Chaoimh it has existing rail links and good road access. Only those travelling from West Cork, Kerry would have to cross the River Lee. Tivoli is a brown field site that’s due to become available once the Port of Cork relocate to Ringaskiddy. This has been confirmed in a recent tweet from the Port of Cork.
Port of Cork Outlines Potential Plans for Port Development in Ringaskiddy portofcork.ie/index.cfm/page… @portofcork
— Port of Cork (@PortofCork) April 4, 2013
View Larger Map
Tivoli marked with a green arrow.
If Cork City Council and the Cork County Board were to take a long-term strategic view on a Stadium location in Cork City then Tivoli should be consider. In the meantime the GAA could look to develop their Centre of Excellence in Curaheen with one of the colleges and modernise Pairc Ui Rinn so that it can accommodate 20,000 seated fans. Perfect for league and the smaller championship games.
A Feast of Trees