Gouldings/BMDC applied to Cork County Council for planning permission to: 1) Move the existing Gouldings fertiliser blending/bagging plant from its current location at Centre Park Road, Cork to a new build at Marino Point and 2) increase shipping activity at the jetty. BMDC stands for the Belvelly Marino Development Company DAC and it is a new collaborative venture between the Port of Cork and Lanber Holdings.

This move was expected for some time. The problem is, Marino Point is very close to Passage West. The PACE Centre is only 450 metres from the jetty. The Steampacket House apartments are only 500 metres away. Noise from the few ships that are currently using the Marino Point jetty is already keeping some residents of Passage West awake at night. And although the planning application included a significant volume of documentation including an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) that is supposed to indicate how negative impacts like this will be mitigated, it had no assessment of night-time noise from the jetty at all.

In making their assessment of the planning application, the County Council did not pick this up. Yes, I and other residents made submissions asking them to address this point but the County Council did not. So I and others have appealed the Council’s proposed grant of planning for these proposed developments at Marino Point. We expect the development to happen but it should respect its nearest neighbours in Passage West and particularly their right to sleep at night-time.

My appeal is here:

Applications are invited from Passage West town centre for funding of streetscape and shopfront enhancement projects under the 2021 Town and Village Streetscape Enhancement scheme.

Commercial, residential or unoccupied buildings only are eligible to apply for the scheme.

Our Rural Future is the Government’s five-year strategy to revitalise rural Ireland and includes a commitment to upgrade and enhance shopfronts and street facades in our rural towns and villages. This activity will be funded by the Department of Rural & Community Development (DRCD) through this 2021 Streetscape Enhancement Measure. This is an additional Measure introduced as part of the Town & Village Renewal Scheme. €7 million is being made available under this Measure in 2021. Improving the visual appearance of our urban streetscapes increases pride and confidence in our home towns and villages, making them more attractive places to live, work and do business.

The focus of this measure is to support the upgrade and enhancement of shopfronts and street facades of defined areas within selected rural town/village centres.

Eligible Works

Eligible works include painting, signage replacement, shopfront improvement, scaffolding, materials, lighting and planting; see also below:

WORKS

• Green enhancement of entrances/ terraces with planting (Maximum grant funding €500)
• Painting of building/shopfront in carefully selected colours which will complement the host building and streetscape.
• Mural which must agreed in advance with Local Authority (Maximum grant funding €1,500)
• Decluttering and repair of shopfronts; decluttering can include such works as removing unnecessary signs, flagpoles, wiring etc (Maximum grant funding €2,000)
• Careful illumination and lighting of architectural features of buildings. (Maximum grant funding €4000)
• Improvements to shopfront window displays and staging. (Maximum grant funding €4000)
• Replacement of signage with traditional wooden fascia with wooden/hand painted lettering OR contemporary design (Maximum grant funding €4000)
• Canopies/Awnings complementary to the materials of the shopfront and building (including street furniture) (Maximum grant funding €4000)
• Replacement of existing shopfront with traditional painted wooden shopfront OR contemporary design (Maximum grant funding €4000)

Maximum per building €8,000

Grant Rates

Grant funding will be provided at the following rates:

• 70% for Individual premises – matched funding 30%
• 80% for Joint applications (groups of 3 or more adjacent premises) – matched funding 20%

• 100% – Where painting is undertaken by direct labour by applicant

Closing date

The closing date for applications is 5pm, Tuesday, 7th September 2021.

Procurement requirements for applications / Quotations

The following procurement rules apply, as a minimum, to the individual projects funded:

2 x Contractor quotations;

1 x Materials quotation;

(Note: 3 written quotations for contracts above €5,000 as per National Procurement

Guidelines)

Successful applications will require:

• Completed Application Form.
• Required Quotations
• Photograph prior to commencement of project

Payment of Grant Award will require

• Photograph of completed project
• Evidence of payment – ie bank statement extract showing transaction

Full guidelines and the application form are here:

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the first phase of development at Marino Point. This gives the green light to the Port of Cork for site preparation works including demolition of the remaining superstructures, infilling of the lagoon, site levelling, roadworks, installation of new drainage systems, a wastewater treatment plant and more.

The Board’s decision and attached conditions are here:

Cork County Council’s Carrigaline Municipal District Painting Scheme is once again open for 2021. Fantastic to see Passage West featuring so prominently on the cover page of the application forms! Any building in the main commercial areas of Carrigaline, Passage West, Glenbrook & Monkstown, Ringaskiddy (Main Street/N28 from Ringaskiddy Oratory to Ringaskiddy Community Centre) and Crosshaven (Lower Road/R612 from the vacant building opposite Chish and Fips to Buckley’s Bar) is eligible under the scheme. Tenants or owners of businesses in these areas can avail of a grant of up to 50% of the cost of works up to a maximum of €1000 for shop front improvements (painting and signage) carried out by a registered contractor. If you choose to do the painting yourself, there is a contribution of up to 100% of cost to cover the materials cost. Application forms and guidelines are below. We will arrange for some application forms to be put in Passage West Post Office over the next few days also.

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Residential Scheme, Word and PDF versions:

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Shopfront Scheme, Word & PDF versions:

Cork County Council is currently preparing a Transportation and Public Realm Enhancement Plan (TRPEP) for Carrigaline. As part of this process the Council wants to hear the views and opinions of residents, community groups, businesses and other interested parties as to how they perceive the town currently and the transportation related (i.e. active travel, public transport and roads) and public realm interventions they would like to see as the town develops. These submissions will be considered in the drafting of the TPREP .

A subsequent round of public consultation, presenting the measures proposed under the TRPEP, will take place once the draft Plan has been prepared.

A presentation providing an overview of the project and outlining how you can engage in the preparation of the Plan is available here and on Cork County Council’s website at www.corkcoco.ie/en/planning/traffic- transport:

Comments and observations may be submitted online on www.yourcouncil.ie, by email to trafficandtransport@corkcoco.ie or in writing to Senior Engineer, Cork County Council, Traffic and Transportation, Planning and Development Directorate, Floor 11, County Hall, Cork, on or before Monday 1st March 2021.