Planning permission has been granted for a major new housing development in Ballincollig, bringing 300 new homes to the fast-growing town.

The large residential development in Carriganarra will join up nicely with the existing Heathfield estate, and once built, it will only be a stone’s throw away from the first stop of the Cork Luas line.

The latest proposed route runs along the Link Road, which connects Heathfield and the surrounding areas directly to the N22/N40. The first Luas Stop in Ballincollig will be located about a 5-minute walk from the Carriganarra site, providing an excellent transport link to the city once everything is in place.

The project is being delivered by MOS Homes Ltd, and the development plans outline a mix of houses and apartments/duplexes, ranging from one-bedroom units to four-bedroom family homes. The 172 apartments and duplexes comprise 18 three-bed units, 109 two-bed units, and 45 single-bed units.

A computer rendering of the proposed homes (Image: Carriganarra LRD)

The remaining 128 houses comprise 42 four-bed detached and semi-detached properties and 84 three-bed homes, split between detached, semi-detached and terraced properties. The proposed development provides for the restoration of an existing vernacular farm building on site, which will accommodate the final 2 two-bedroom semi-detached units.

The application includes plans for a two-storey creche with a capacity of up to 100 children, and a report on school capacity in Ballincollig found that this development would not place undue pressure on local services.

Permission was also granted for four new pedestrian and cycle connections, bicycle parking, landscaping and a new clear-span bridge across the Maglin River, which runs through the proposed site.

A computer rendering of the proposed homes

The project received several objections, primarily from residents in the surrounding area who raised concerns about the development’s traffic impact, arguing that the area is already quite congested. However, one of the most extensive objections wasn’t submitted by a resident but by another developer, whose plans for a massive project in Ballincollig were recently shot down by the council.

O’Flynn Construction’s plans for a massive 1,150-home development in Ballincollig were rejected by the council on traffic and environmental grounds. In its refusal, the council stated that the O’Flynn development would be ‘premature’ pending delivery of the South Ballincollig Sustainable Transport Corridor and that it would be ‘excessively car-dependent.’

The council also claimed that the environmental impact assessment submitted by O’Flynn did not “describe adequately” the impacts the development would have on the local environment.

In a submission to the council regarding the project in Carriganarra, a representative of O’Flynn Construction described the development as ‘piecemeal and uncoordinated.’

The developer highlighted concerns about wastewater processing, drainage, flood risks, and ecological impacts, as outlined in the council’s June request for further information. The O’Flynn rep said that the company believes that these issues were not adequately addressed in the responses to the council’s requests.

Despite these objections, the council saw fit to greenlight the project, and preparatory work is expected to commence at the site in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the O’Flynn Group has lodged a formal appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála in relation to its own 1,150-home development. In a letter submitted to the planning authority, the company said that its environmental impact assessment was ‘comprehensive and thorough’ and described the council’s criticism of it as ‘generic.’

The O’Flynn group has requested an oral hearing on the development before An Coimisiún Pleanála. The case is due to be decided in early January.