The council denied the plans on traffic and environmental grounds
15:52, 23 Sep 2026Updated 16:01, 23 Sep 2026
Graphic with an overhead view of the planned development(Image: O’Flynn Group)
A formal planning appeal has been lodged against Cork City Council’s decision to refuse permission for more than a thousand new houses and apartments in a fast-growing area of Ballincollig
In August, the council refused plans lodged by the O’Flynn group to build a massive new development on the western edge of Ballincollig, which would have delivered 1,150 homes on a phased basis.
In its refusal, the council cited concerns about the development’s impact on traffic, stating that it 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 the O’Flynn Group did not “describe adequately” the impacts the development would have on the local environment.
Following the council’s decision, O’Fynn group CEO Michael O’Flynn said it was unacceptable that such a “quality housing scheme of this strategic scale” be refused during a national housing crisis. He also highlighted how adjoining large-scale developments had been approved despite their presumed reliance on the yet-to-be-built transport corridor.
O’Flynn also argued that the land chosen for the development had been zoned for residential use for more than 15 years and had gone unused prior to the application being submitted. “It sends the wrong message,” he said.
“The people of Cork need homes. Blocking the delivery of 1,150 homes on land zoned for housing for over 15 years sends entirely the wrong message at a time when housing supply has never been more critical.”
Now the company has submitted a formal appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála. 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.’
It also lays out in great detail the infrastructure provision associated with the development and highlights the project’s phased nature, which the company claims will mitigate the council’s traffic concerns.
The O’Flynn group has also requested an oral hearing on the development before An Coimisiún Pleanála. The case is due to be decided in early January.