Chapter 2 Core Strategy
Main points
- We strongly support the vast majority of aims and objectives laid out in chapter 2 particularly the focus on compact growth and the 15-minutes City
- The quality of vision and execution of the draught chapter is to be commended
- However, we are concerned that the low-level of tier 1,2 & 3 lands identified in table 2.3 for development in the city centre and to a lesser extent in the Docklands does not truly reflect the level of derelict and underutilized sites in the city centre. Failing to identify more that 2Ha. of land for redevelopment in the city centre threatens the delivery compact growth and a 15min city.
We Strongly support the following objectives unchanged as they are in the current draft
Objective 2.1
Objective 2.2
Objective 2.4
Objective 2.5
Objective 2.6
Objective 2.7
Objective 2.10
Objective 2.11
Objective 2.15
Objective 2.16
Objective 2.17
Objective 2.18
Objective 2.20
Objective 2.21
Objective 2.27
Objective 2.31
Objective 2.32
Objective 2.33
Objective 2.34
Objective 2.35
Objective 2.36
We support the following objectives and suggest the following modification/additions to strengthen their effectiveness in achieving the Strategic objectives laid out at the beginning of Chapter 2
Objective 2.8
Existing text
The 15-Minute City
To support the delivery of a 15-Minute City delivering Compact Liveable Growth through walkable neighbourhoods, towns and communities with a mix of uses, house types and tenures that foster a diverse, resilient, socially inclusive and responsive city. Strategic infrastructure and large-scale developments shall demonstrate how they contribute to a 15 minute city and enhance Cork City’s liveability.
Suggested Strengthening
The 15-Minute City
To support the delivery of a 15-Minute City delivering Compact Liveable Growth through walkable neighbourhoods, towns and communities with a mix of uses, house types and tenures that foster a diverse, resilient, socially inclusive and responsive city. Strategic infrastructure and developments shall demonstrate how they contribute to a 15 minute city and enhance Cork City’s liveability. Large-scale developments shall demonstrate how they achieve a 15 minute city and enhance Cork City’s liveability.
Objective 2.9
Existing text
Low Carbon City
Support the delivery of a lower carbon, sustainable city where development avoids, mitigates and adapts to the effects of climate change while protecting and enhancing Cork City’s environmental assets.
Suggested Strengthening
Addition of the following sentence.
Strategic infrastructure and large-scale developments shall demonstrate how they contribute to lower Carbon Emissions.
To give
Low Carbon City
Support the delivery of a lower carbon, sustainable city where development avoids, mitigates and adapts to the effects of climate change while protecting and enhancing Cork City’s environmental assets. Strategic infrastructure and large-scale developments shall demonstrate how they contribute to lower Carbon Emissions.
Objective 2.12
Existing text
Walkable Neighbourhoods
New development shall be designed to make positive additions to their neighbourhoods, towns and communities by:
a. Delivering the right mix of uses at a scale and design that creates high quality buildings and spaces.
b. Creating attractive, safe and vibrant places designed at a human scale (i.e. places that relate to people, streetscapes and local character).
c. Ensuring a child friendly and age friendly environment with a mix of household types.
d. Designing a safe place that enables access for all.
e. Creating a healthy neighbourhood with direct access to high quality parks and public spaces.
f. Being well-connected with easy access to public transport and active travel.
g. Providing enhanced permeability for walking and cycling.
Suggested Strengthening
Addition of the following two cluses.
h. Non-residential developments shall be located so as to be accessible to the majority of their staff and customers by foot.
I. Residential developments shall ensure that the majority of everyday services and a high frequency public transport link to other services, education and employment are available within a 15 min walk of all residences.
To give
Walkable Neighbourhoods
New development shall be designed to make positive additions to their neighbourhoods, towns and communities by:
a. Delivering the right mix of uses at a scale and design that creates high quality buildings and spaces.
b. Creating attractive, safe and vibrant places designed at a human scale (i.e. places that relate to people, streetscapes and local character).
c. Ensuring a child friendly and age friendly environment with a mix of household types.
d. Designing a safe place that enables access for all.
e. Creating a healthy neighbourhood with direct access to high quality parks and public spaces.
f. Being well-connected with easy access to public transport and active travel.
g. Providing enhanced permeability for walking and cycling.
h. Non-residential developments shall be located so as to be accessible to the majority of their staff and customers by foot.
I. Residential developments shall ensure that the majority of everyday services and a high frequency public transport link to other services, education and employment are available within a 15 min walk of all residences.
Objective 2.19
Existing text
Windfall Sites
Strategic brownfield sites with existing active uses will be treated as windfall sites. The redevelopment of these sites, if or when they become available, will require careful consideration. For such sites, Cork City Council will require agreement on a detailed framework plan at an early stage to ensure best practice regeneration and design based on the character and nature of their existing urban environments.
Suggested Strengthening
Windfall Sites
Strategic brownfield sites with existing active uses will be treated as windfall sites. The redevelopment of these sites, if or when they become available, will require careful consideration. For such sites, Cork City Council will require agreement on a detailed framework plan produced in conjunction with a process of public consultation at an early stage to ensure best practice regeneration and design based on the character and nature of their existing urban environments.
Objective 2.23
Existing text
Quality of Life
In planning for future population growth, Cork City Council will assess and monitor quality of life factors including improvements in the urban environment, community infrastructure and cultural experiences that can increase the numbers of people seeking to live, work, study, visit and experience the city.
Suggested Strengthening
Quality of Life
In planning for future population growth, Cork City Council will assess and monitor quality of life factors including improvements in the urban environment, community infrastructure, reducing average commute/journey distance and cultural experiences that can increase the numbers of people seeking to live, work, study, visit and experience the city.
Objective 2.26
Existing text
Housing Supply
Support an increase in the supply, affordability and quality of new housing in city and provide a range of housing options delivering good design that is appropriate to the character of the area in which it is built.
Suggested Strengthening
Housing Supply
Support an increase in the supply, affordability and quality of new housing in city and provide a range of housing options delivering good design that is both of a compact urban character and is appropriate to the character of the area in which it is built.
Objective 2.28
Existing text
Supply of Zoned Land
Monitor and review the Core Strategy to ensure that sufficient zoned land continues to be available to meet the City’s housing requirements over the lifetime of the Plan.
Suggested Strengthening
Supply of Zoned Land
Monitor and review the Core Strategy to ensure that sufficient zoned land, close to employment, services and education, continues to be available to meet the City’s housing requirements over the lifetime of the Plan.
Objective 2.30
Existing text
Managing the Hinterland
Any development proposals in the remainder of the hinterland will be closely managed to protect against unnecessary and unplanned urban sprawl.
Suggested Strengthening
Managing the Hinterland
Any development proposals in the hinterland will be closely managed to protect against unnecessary and unplanned urban sprawl and shall not be accessed by car by residents, employees or customers
We believe that the following objectives need modification to avoid conflict with the Strategic objectives laid out at the beginning of Chapter 2 and we can not support without the following modifications.
Objective 2.24 Core Strategy
Existing text
To implement and support the delivery of the Core Strategy in accordance with the Core Strategy Map and Table, the Growth Strategy Map and Table and the Objectives for City Growth Table set out in this plan.
We have no issue with the text of this objective but we a serious issue with the figures in table 2.2 as it concentrates growth in the most distant and low-density parts of the city. A commitment to compact growth implies a preference to concentrate growth in the most central parts of the city and in communities that can accommodate the highest densities. We believe that this one table will define any possible changes in the city’s transport mix and so is of the upmost importance.
Reasoning for the prioritisation of growth in central city areas.
The core goal of the Cork transport and mobility forum is enabling people to travel in a way that is more sustainable and has less of a negative impact on their health and quality of life. This is to a large degree dependent on enabling people to switch from private motor vehicles to public and active transport. But it is also so about ensuring that people do not have to travel excessive distances to meet their everyday needs. Improving mobility is not about increasing the number of kilometres people can travel easily rather it is about minimising the number of kilometres you need to travel to make all the journeys you desire. By bringing trip generators closer together and improving permeability people can make more trips per day living more fulfilling and productive lives at the same time as spending less time and resources on travel.
The key determinant of this vision of improved mobility, which is well supported throughout this draft plan, comes to pass is not any dedicated transport intervention but rather ensuring homes and services are built closer together.
Why sustainable transport requires density
Table 2.2 to and table 11.2 in chapter 11 are the key determinants of transport in the Cork region over the coming decade. Is vital that these deliver compact growth bringing trip generators closer together lowering the distances that need to be travelled allowing both a change in the modal distribution away from the private car and meaning that if people drive they don't have to drive as far. The real goal is to achieve a 10/15 min community for the majority of the population. This can only happen when a critical density of homes and service come within a 10/15 minutes’ walk. This requires mixed use, good permeability but also an absolute minimum of circa 100 residential units/ha to support the number and variety of services within walking distance.
Given that it will not be possible to develop at as high a density in suburban towns as in the urban core while respecting their suburban character it will not be possible to achieve the strategic objectives outlined at the beginning of chapter 2 the requirement under the national planning framework and regional spatial and Economic Strategy for compact growth or achieve a 15-minute City if growth is concentrated in what are at present the lowest density and most isolated areas of the city.
The requirement for city centre housing
The greatest demand for housing is in the city centre within walking distance of employment services and amenities. There is at present, before any further growth occurs, a very significant unmet demand for housing in this area. This is having already a very significant adverse effect on the competitiveness of Cork City, the region and Ireland as a whole as a substantial number of those attracted here for employment are leaving because they are unable to find housing in the city centre where they desire to live. There are also a very significant numbers of people who desire to live in the city centre forced commuting from the outer Suburbs at great cost to their quality of life and health while placing significant burden on our transport infrastructure and increasing traffic congestion.
The commitment to achieve compact urban growth, the strategic objectives outlined in at the beginning of chapter 2 and the commitment to a 15-minute City means that the priority for providing housing must be to first provide as much housing as possible within walking distance of the city centre and the lowest priority for providing housing should be in areas of suburban character which are inaccessible by walking and cycling. Providing more low-density housing of a suburban charter or housing which encourages commuting is directly in contravention to the requirement for compact urban growth, the strategic objectives outlined in chapter 1 and the commitment to a 15-minute City. Table 2.2 shows only 7% of the residential development within the city centre & 12.2% in the docklands this substantially below what is required to satisfy the exiting pent-up demand for accommodation in the city centre before allowing for any further growth.
A reassessment of the area of underutilised land in the city centre is required
We recognise that the low figure for the city centre is due to the low level of available land identified in Tables 2.3 & 2.4. We have real difficulty however accepting a figure of only 2ha as the total amount of underutilised land in in the city centre. A cursory examination by members identified 16 ha of vacant derelict or underutilised land in the city centre. This assessment is clearly based on inadequate data and needs to be urgently re assessed.
We would suggest in the interim that the plan commits to identifying the maximum amount of underutilised land in the city centre and encouraging its redevelopment in accordance with objectives 2.17 & 2.18
Suggested improvements to table 2.2
The increase in population of 6,070 for the dock lands in Table 2 implies the developments of only 3,000 units covering either
A; just under 10ha (at a medium urban density of 325 units/ha as per recent 3-6 story city centre apartment completions, 2.08 person household size and 3% vacancy) or
B; the 16.8 ha of Tier 1&2 sites referred to in Table 2.3 at only 155 unit/ha in the city docks and 83 units/ha in Tivoli (below the minimum density outlined in table 11.2)
of the 115.96ha of the docklands excluding Tivoli, Marina Park and Custom house/river channel areas.
Developing those 16.8 ha at a medium urban density of 325 units/ha ha would yield a population increase 11,016 or 14527 at 500 units/ha a more respectable 22.2-29.3% of targeted population growth
Targeting 20% of the area for residential development within the lifetime of this plan (requiring the development of 6.4ha or 9.3% of tier 3 lands identified in Table 2.4) at 325 units/ha would yield a population increase 15,208 or 23,396 at 500 units/ha a significant 30.7-47.2% of targeted population growth where all the Strategic objectives of this plan the vision of the NPF and a 15 min city would be easily achieved while boosting regional competitiveness by providing accommodation that would attract international talent which will otherwise not consider Cork. This would also remove the need to develop more remote greenfield sites at densities which will not achieve the compact growth required.
Objective 2.25
We support in the strongest possible terms the objective of compact growth and acknowledge the substantial progress towards that objective in this draft.
However, given the already large footprint of Cork City, even if 100% of projected population growth was to occur within the existing footprint of the city the majority of Communities would still suffer from population densities far below that which constitute compact settlement or which allow a 15-minute city to be a reality. Therefore, it is vital to achieving the strategic objectives set out in chapter 1 that sufficient new housing development take place within the existing footprint to allow compact growth and the achievement of a 15 min city, any development outside the existing footprint delays this for existing communities. In this context we cannot support the 65% target for housing within in the existing footprint. While recognising the challenges of providing sufficient housing to meet the necessarily ambitious targets for home building and the significant problems associated with lack of supply, we request that this 65% target is revised substantially up, to ensure compact growth and the greatest possible number of existing communities are developed sufficiently to allow the 15-minute city to become a reality within those communities.
Existing text
Compact Growth
It is an objective to target the delivery of 65% of all new homes in Cork City on lands within the existing built footprint of the city, as set out in the Core Strategy.
Suggested Strengthening
This target should be increased as much as possible.