Blarney Submission

I. Re-zone lands west of the Former Blarney Hotel Site from “ZO 02 New Residential Neighbourhoods” to “ZO 21 City Hinterland” which are within the centreline of views from the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and Blarney Castle, affecting negatively the significance and special character of the setting and its intangible cultural heritage.

II. Re-zone the lands at Monacnapa from “ZO 02 New Residential Neighbourhoods” to “ZO 21 City Hinterland” which are within the centreline of views from the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and Blarney Castle, affecting negatively the significance and special character of the setting and its intangible cultural heritage.

Alternatively, provide for “ZO 21 City Hinterland Zoning” above the 72m contour line and provide development parameters for the remainder of the land including adequate offset to the southern boundary and lower density development.

III. Provide for the protection of mature/historic woodland as part of the “City Hinterland Zoning ZO 21” and as part of “Objective 10.65 Blarney Hinterland”. Provide statutory protection for adequate buffers on zoned lands for root zones.

IV. Blarney Castle be designated as a strategic viewing location in addition to the designation as landmark building and strategic views be identified for key areas.

V. The expanded area of the ACA should include a 15m buffer zone on the approach roads to the ACA and include Blarney National School, in recognition of its significant architectural contribution at the western gateway to the ACA and its historic link to BCE and Blarney.

VI. The impact of residential and retail development in the vicinity and within the ACA must be assessed in terms of traffic impacts on the smooth running of the tourism offering and local connectivity, permeability and amenity value.

VII. The high density housing needed to fulfil the growth strategy for Blarney should be directed and prioritised to the north and east of the historic core where its impact can be managed in line with sustainable development goals and not to the detriment of Blarney’s historic core, the viewshed to and from the Castle and the historic landscape setting of the village.

VIII. The Blarney Business Park Expansion Area should include as a core objective the provision of an overall landscape master plan and other mitigation measures in terms of material colours and height restrictions in order to mitigate the impact of new development on long range views from Blarney Castle.

IX. Remove the expansion area to the north of the existing Apple centre of the Hollyhill Industrial Estate, to avoid further encroachment on long-distance views from Blarney Castle. The proposed expansion west of Hollymount Industrial Estate (north of Blarney Road) requires well landscaped areas as mitigation measures.

The attached document by Southgate Associates further expands on these policy requests, seeking additional detailed amendments to the DCCDP as follows:

X. Provide a sustainable tourism objective to support the unique setting of the built heritage tourist attractions of Blarney and to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage associated with them, by careful control of new additions or alterations to their immediate and wider setting.

XI. Provide a historic landscape objective to carefully control the siting, design, materials, use and scale of development where it would be visible from the ACA, to ensure that views and vistas to and from the ACA are respected.

XII. Provide a development objective to ensure that the character and integrity of the ACA is maintained by recognising that new development adjacent and at a distance from the ACA can affect the ACA’s character. The siting, design, material and use of such development should be carefully considered not to have a negative impact.

XIII. Provide a development objective for public realm improvements within the historic core to ensure that they are designed to enhance and support the historic character.

XIV. Reduce in size Tier 3 lands on the eastern approach to Blarney’s historic core to provide a 15m buffer zone, controlling development in a manner similar to an ACA.

XV. Include the requirement for development and associated landscaping to be of sympathetic scale, materials, use and design, which is visible from and connects to the ACA, as an addition to Section 1.133.

XVI. In addition to Section 1.135, recognise that enhancing the historic character and integrity of the ACA should be at the core of larger-scale residential and mixed-use development.

The attached report by Forestbird Design supports the submission by providing the landscape rationale for identifying the important views to and from BCE and the ACA.

Included as an appendix to this submission is a woodland report, provided by Forestbird Design, highlighting the opportunities and threats to the woodland and submitting that development on zoned lands must take into account the presence of mature lands and ensure Root Protection Areas.