Planning permission given for road near UCC Farm...

As many of you will know, the UCC sports ground at Curraheen known as the 'Farm' is a popular spot for runners. It's probably the only place in or near Cork city where you can run for a decent distance on a soft surface.

In 2011, I had a post up about the proposed development of a science and innovation park in the area where the UCC Farm is now.

In 2012, I had another post about how the park was approved by the Cork City Council.

The latest news is that planning permission has now been given for a road adjacent to the Farm. As you can see from the map below, the road runs from the roundabout by the Farm...past the greyhound track.....and over to a new junction by CIT. As a condition of the planning, An Bord Pleanála said it can’t be used as a through road for traffic but only for access to the CIT and the new science and technology park.

Running area marked in yellow

While the 2.1km road won't impact the UCC Farm initially, it does mark the start of the development of the area.

The new road will also have cycle paths and footpaths so that may offer people a few more route choices.

Cork City Council approve development of Science Park...

First of all, a little background to this story.

Back in August 2011, I had a post about how there was a proposal to develop the UCC Farm and turn it into a Science Park. The Farm is a popular spot for many runners as it's soft grass surface makes for an attractive surface to train on in comparison to the busy roads and hard footpaths of the city.

In January of 2012, I had a post about how UCC proposed to develop a centre of excellence for sport at an adjacent site.

Well, last Monday things moved on a bit further when Cork County Council agreed to a Section 85 agreement which allows the Cork County Council to build infrastructure inside the city limits where necessary. This now clears the way for the development of the Cork Science and Innovation Park (CSIP) at the western edge of the city boundary in Curraheen.

The plan includes provisions for the construction of access roads in the predominantly greenfield site, located between Bishopstown and Ballincollig. Infrastructure includes a 2km access road, with two bridges, to provide transport to five development centres.It is hoped that the major development  could create upwards of 17,000 jobs and mark Cork out as a potential Silicon Valley of Ireland.

Usual running route on the Farm shown in orange

Phase One of the project, according to County Council documents, will create 1,320 employees and researchers, while Phase Two and Three will generate 4,500 and 11,354 respectively. The spin-off jobs in retail and other ancillary employment positions lead to the 17,000 figure. These figures are separate from the initial construction phase.

It's not clear as to how or when this would impact on the part of the Farm that people use for training but the CSIP Interim Director said...."We have approval for a road to access the site a number of weeks ago so we expect to commence on that project soon. We are preparing an implementation plan for the site now and expect the first building to go up by late 2014. We are also in the process of drawing up a communication strategy for stakeholders and residents which will be released shortly."

UCC Farm...End of an era??

The UCC Farm has for many years been a popular spot for runners in Cork. Located at Curraheen next to the Greyhound Stadium, the soft surface is a welcome change to the hard roads and footpaths of the city. While the Farm mainly consists of a series of football pitches, runners use the area around the perimeter and are tolerated/ignored by the ground staff of UCC.

In late August, Cork County Council announced a draft plan for the development of the Cork Science and Innovation Park...details HERE

As you can see from the map above, it covers a substantial area including the routes normally used by runners......shown in blue.

If it is developed, it should look something like this...

The current Farm running routes are shown in orange

Needless to say, it raises lots of questions....
Will it be developed in the current economic climate?
Will the new park have any suitable running routes or will it be lost for good?

The complete plan (large) in PDF format can be seen HERE