Apartment plan for key Dennehy's Cross site to include artisan food market
Computer-generated image of how the planned residential and retail development on Cork city's Dennehy's Cross will look. Picture: RealSim
A planning application has been lodged for a long-vacant site in Cork city to include new residential accommodation and an artisan food market.
The former Dennehy's Cross Garage is located close to the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the junction of Magazine Road, Wilton Road, Victoria Cross Road and Model Farm Road and is to be redeveloped into a four-storey apartment complex if permission is approved.
The plans have been lodged by Galway firm, Dennehys Cross Construction Ltd headed by Brian McHugh, Finian Hanley and Finn Hill.
The project will include the demolition of the former garage while preserving the 20th-century structure which operated previously as a butcher. It will be rebuilt and utilised as an artisan food market. A cafe restaurant is also proposed on the ground floor.
Planning permission is also sought for the construction of a residential development of 30 apartments over four storeys. No parking is proposed with 49 bicycle spaces to be provided.
The applicants said they have scaled down the planned development in size following concerns raised by Cork City Council in pre-planning meetings. The company was previously refused permission for the development of 45 apartments on the same site in 2020. Planning was granted in 2007 to a different firm for a residential development but the project did not proceed.
The Dennehys Cross area is a key site for Cork city's western suburbs and is the subject of a review under the BusConnects scheme that would see the junction upgraded to accommodate public transport improvements. Long-term plans for a possible light-rail system for Cork would likely run through the junction.
In their planning statement prepared by planning consultants Butler O'Neill, the company said the proposed scheme would be a positive addition to this currently underutilised part of the city and acknowledge the balance that needs to be struck when redeveloping heritage sites for housing in terms of viability.
"There is no doubt that the proposed scheme offers planning gain through the preservation and restoration of the 20th-century building and is a high-quality scheme which will enable future tenants to enjoy a high quality of life and will act as an exemplar of the slightly different approach to planning decisions which needs to be adopted if Cork city is to grow in tandem with National, Regional and Local level aspirations for growth."
