Planning permission has been granted for a new large-scale residential development at the former site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby home in Cork. The city council has approved plans for over 100 new apartments at the site after a similar proposal by the same developer was shot down last year.
There have been several planning applications lodged at the controversial Bessborough site near Blackrock over the years, with survivor groups consistently objecting. The mother and baby home closed in 1998, but the site is still a painful reminder of the trauma many Cork families experienced there.
The developer, Estuary View Enterprises 2020 Limited, has applied for planning permission at the Bessborough site near Blackrock on several occasions since 2021. Its previous application was refused by An Coimisiún Pleanála for failing to meet the planning requirements set out by the local authority.
The latest application was approved by Cork City Council on Tuesday, with the planning department cutting the height of one of the tower blocks to four stories and ordering the omission of Block C, which would have contained 34 additional apartments. A total of 140 new units were proposed in the original plans, with the number now hovering around 100.
Bessborough Mother and Baby Home
The council ordered that any soil excavated from the property be spread out and examined for bone fragments, coffin timbers, coffin nails, and other evidence that may indicate the presence of a burial site. Should any human remains be discovered, all work on the development will cease, and crews are obligated to report the find to the relevant authorities, including GardaÃ.
During the planning process, strong objections were lodged by Bessborough survivors and local Councillor Peter Horgan to the development.
An objection submitted by Carmell Cantwell on behalf of the Bessboro Mother and Baby Support Group said that in the absence of a comprehensive archaeological investigation, the State would be breaking promises made to survivors. The group fears that development could disturb previously undiscovered burial sites on the property.
Ms Cantwell’s mother, Bridget, lost her son in Bessborough back in the 1960s, and the family has since spent decades telling the stories of survivors and trying to find the burial places of other children who died there. Over the decades, Carmel has questioned her mother extensively about her time in the mother and baby home, a short but harrowing period in Bridget’s life where she was ‘worked to the bone up until the day she went into labour.’
Carmel Cantwell at her home in Cork
In a previous interview with CorkBeo, Ms Cantwell said that she believes the archaeological investigations at the site have been insufficient and that too many questions remain unanswered for any development to move forward.
A section of the survivor group’s submission reads: “Bessborough is not an ordinary development site. It is a location where thousands of women and children lived under coercive conditions, and where hundreds of children died. The full extent of burial locations on the grounds remains unknown.
“Key concerns include: no comprehensive, independent archaeological investigation has been completed; survivors and families have repeatedly expressed fear that unmarked burial sites may be disturbed; the proposal fails to demonstrate that development can proceed without risking irreversible harm to a landscape of national memory.
“The State has acknowledged the need for truth, dignity, and respect for survivors. Allowing development without full clarity on burial locations would contradict these commitments.
“The Farmyard area and surroundings hold particular memories for some of our members who recall working there with their mothers, in one case, a man visits Bessboro regularly from the USA to walk around the farmyard and grounds, the place he last saw his mother.”
The submission also raised concerns about the environmental and landscape impacts, the issues highlighted in previous refusals, and the land’s zoning.
In his objection, Cllr Peter Horgan said that building on these lands simply ‘shouldn’t be allowed’ and that any development at the site ‘touches directly on deep community sensitivities and unresolved historical issues.’ The Labour councillor said that granting permission without addressing the concerns surrounding the property’s heritage and the potential presence of more burial sites is ‘premature and disrespectful to survivors and bereaved families.’
Alongside the new apartments, Cork City Council has also granted permission for several new local amenities. Two additional blocks at the site will be used for residential amenities, including a home workspace, library, lounge, function space, and a creche.
The proposal includes plans for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the adjoining Passage West Greenway to the east, as well as new pedestrian access to Bessborough Estate to the north of the site.
The council also granted permission for new car and bike parking spaces, an ESB substation, a new park and all other necessary site works. Permission was granted subject to 70 conditions, including the employment of experts to conserve historic buildings on the property and a forensic archaeologist to monitor all groundworks.
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