Cork City Council, in collaboration with Cork County Council and the Office of Public Works (the funding authority for the scheme), intends to undertake engineering works along the Ballybrack Stream, Grange Stream and Tramore River with the objective of reducing the risk of flooding in the areas of Douglas.
The Scheme is designed to provide protection to the design standard of 1 in 100 year rainfall/1 in 200 year tidal event.
McGinty & O’Shea Ltd has been awarded the works contract (€5.5m) for construction of the Douglas Works package and the works are due to commence in August 2019.
The works contract has been divided into 5 areas as shown in Plate 1 below. With the exception of Area 1, works in rivers are constrained to the months of May to September (inclusive) as required by the planning permission and Inland Fisheries Ireland. Also, following the principle that the works cannot increase the flood risk during the construction phase, instream works will start downstream and work upstream.
The works will be constructed on private property in a number of locations. The project team have been liaising with these property owners over the last 2 years to facilitate the construction of the works under agreement.
The following table gives an indication of the types of construction in the relevant areas. All time frames are provisional and subject to clarification by the Contractor.
General Construction Activities.
Area 1 – St Patrick’s Mills
Construction of flood defence wall.
Likely timeframe for Construction – Winter 2019
Area 2 – Douglas Community Park
Construction of flood defence wall and river bank stabilisation. River widening and regrading. Hard and soft landscaping.
Likely timeframe for Construction – Autumn 2019
Area 3 – Church Rd
Replace culvert, river widening and flood defence walls.
Likely timeframe for Construction – Summer 2020
Area 4 – Ravensdale and Ballybrack woods
Replace access bridges, river widening and flood defence walls. Course screen in Ballybrack woods.
Likely timeframe for Construction – Summer/ Autumn 2020
Area 5 – Donnybrook Commercial centre.
Replace culvert, river regrading and course screen.
Likely timeframe for Construction – Autumn 2020
Works to Douglas Community Park:
It is intended that works commence in Douglas Community Park in the August 2019, however this is to be confirmed by the Contractor.
The Contractor will install safety barriers along the west edge of the cycle track and this half of the park (between the cycle track and the river) will be out of public use for the duration of the works in Area 2. It is estimated that the works to the park will take approximately 5-6 months to complete.
Due to the extensive planned works to Douglas Community Park and Church Road, the opportunity was taken by Cork County Council Architects Department to deliver a public amenity outcome from the Flood relief works. This was as envisioned in the Douglas Land Use Transport Strategy 2013 (DLUTS) to deliver public Realm outcomes for the community.
The river will be visually opened to the park to create a pleasant riverside walking and viewing areas which are accessible and safe. Quality materials and bespoke furniture will be incorporated to provide place making and flexible use of public space for community events.
The widening of the river and the replacement of the left bank with a gabion wall (on private lands) reduces the space allowable for replanting of trees. To account for this, relocation of proposed trees and scrubs was designed in cooperation with a Landscape Architect Consultant to create screening and sheltering at appropriate locations. Where possible, existing trees will be retained and incorporated into the revise layout plan. Selections of scrubs and grasses are included to compliment the tree planting.
Compensation replanting will also be provided in other areas of the community to account for any net loss of trees to the park/Church road. The location of these areas will be identified in consultation with Cork City Council Parks Department and the Tidy Towns Association.
An information poster has been designed to inform the local community and park users of the project and the proposed finish for the park.
For more information on the development of the scheme please visit www.DouglasFRS.ie
Ursuline Convent Housing works have been granted permission by An Bord Pleanála with 16 pages of conditions- thanks to all locals who fought the case.
There was a concerted huge effort by residents in Blackrock and surrounds asking for the scaling back of the development- People are not against housing but there have been huge concerns on the traffic which will move through a small avenue with two local schools and onto an even narrower Blackrock Road; there were other concerns as well regarding the visual design and the building heights – it seems to me that housing density is ruling the decision making process – that the ruling is the more apartments and houses the better on a small site.
The upcoming review of the Strategic Housing Development cannot come sooner enough in my opinion. For me I just find the voices and concerns of local people are being lost in the decision-making process.
Saturday 17 August 2017 – Historical Walking Tour of Cork City Hall with Kieran, 11am, ticketed (free, part of Cork Heritage Open Day; duration: 75 minutes; details at www.corkheritageopenday.ie)
Sunday 18 August 2019, Cork Through the Ages, An introduction to the historical development of Cork City with Kieran; meet at the National Monument, Grand Parade, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours).
Monday 19 August 2018, Shandon Historical Walking Tour with Kieran, explore Cork’s most historic quarter; meet at North Gate Bridge, Shandon Street, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours).
Tuesday 20 August 2019, The Victorian Quarter; historical walking tour with Kieran of the area around St Patrick’s Hill – Wellington Road and McCurtain Street; meet on the Green at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
Thursday 22 August 2019, The Lough and its Curiosities; historical walking tour with Kieran; meet at green area at northern green of The Lough, entrance of Lough Road to The Lough; 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
Friday 23 August 2019, Douglas and its History, historical walking tour with Kieran in association with Douglas Tidy Towns; Discover the history of industry and the development of this historic village, meet in the carpark of Douglas Community Centre, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours, circuit of village, finishes nearby).
Saturday 24 August 2019, Park Stories, Historical walking tour of Fitzgerald’s Park with Kieran, explore the history of Cork’s Mardyke, which is celebrating its 300th birthday this year; meet at band stand in park, opposite Cork City Museum, 11am (free, duration: two hours).
The 6th Annual Bessborough Commemoration is next Sunday 23rd June at 2pm at the Bessborough Centre, Blackrock, Cork.
The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes published their fifth interim report – The Burials Report, which revealed that 904 children died there during the years that were being investigated; 840 children remain missing with their burial places unknown.
Some pictures I took from this weekend’s on Cork’s south docks – many thanks to all the organisers including Cork City Council, Port of Cork, agencies and volunteers for creating a super event.
Sunday 9 June,Stories from Cork Docklands, historical walking tour with Kieran, learn about the evolution of Cork’s Docklands from its early days through its historical maps, 19th & 20th century industrialisation to housing and community building, meet at Kennedy Park, Victoria Road 2pm (free, duration, two hours, on site tour, part of the Cork Harbour Festival and SeaFest).
Privileged to be back at the first AGM of Cork City Council last evening – thanks again to my small family canvass team and everyone who voted me back in – a new 5-year season of hard work begins
Welcome to the 1,000th column. To mark the occasion and to also coincide with the launch of my new book, The Little Book of Cork Harbour, and the Cork Harbour Festival and Seafest, the next historical walking tour will be of Cork Docklands on Sunday afternoon 9 June (full details at end of column as well as the June walking tours. Below is another snippet from the new book.
The Cork Horns:
The earliest prehistoric artefact from Cork Docklands was discovered in reclamation deposits near the south jetties in the Victoria Road area of Cork city in 1909. When the excavations for a large tank had gone below river level and while the workmen were working in water, one of them brought up on his shovel a very slender metal cone. Later in the day two other similar cones, attached by metal to each other, were dug up at the same place. From a study of several of the old maps of Cork City, it is clear that in early times this particular area was a tidal salt marsh if not an actual mud flat. Some mud inside the horns resembled the grey mud of slobland along the river. Two of the cones were joined by metal to each other. It appears that the horns were in fact helmet ornaments and perhaps date from the Iron Age. The horns are now on public display in Cork Public Museum.
A Harbour of Shipwrecks:
There are over 400 shipwrecks in Cork Harbour ranging from seventeenth century galleons to twentieth century submarines. The locations of the majority of the 400 though are unrecorded. Ireland’s Underwater Archaeology Unit (UAU) was established within the National Monuments Service to manage and protect Ireland’s underwater cultural heritage. The Unit is engaged in the compilation of an inventory of shipwrecks recorded in Irish waters.
A Modern Port City:
The modern river port of Cork City began to take shape about the middle of the eighteenth century. Consolidation of the marshy islands provided building space and the covering over of the river channels and canals made wide streets possible. Quay walls were built at low water level and could not accommodate ships of moderately heavy burthen, which had to lighten cargo down the harbour for road transport to the city.
Cork Harbour Commissioners:
The formation of the Cork Harbour Commissioners in 1813 concentrated responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of the shipping channels and city’s quays into one organisation. During the following decades the Commissioners instigated an extensive programme of repairing and re-building the quays in limestone ashlar construction and this included the insertion of 8,000 timber toe-piles driven to depths of 21 feet in order to facilitate dredging close to the quays. The Commissioners spent a total of £34,389, raised from harbour fees, between 1827 and 1834 on the improvement of the city quays. Once the quays were in a stable condition the river channels were extensively dredged and the extracted material was used to reclaim areas of slob-land, including the City Park area behind the Navigation Wall. Timber wharfs began to be constructed along a number of the quays in the second half of the nineteenth century, including Albert, Union, Victoria, St Patrick’s and Penrose Quays. In 1874 timber wharves were added to the south jetties. There were seven jetties constructed, each 43 ½ feet wide and initially separated by 120 feet of clear space which were subsequently filled in.
Early Twentieth Century:
During and up to the early years of the twentieth century berths were deepened at low water to keep all shipping afloat at lowest tides. Wharves and deep water quays were built and berths were deepened. In 1919 the Cork Harbour Commissioners acquired from the Board of Trade 153 acres of slobland at Tivoli for the purpose of pumping dredged material ashore, thus creating new land for industrial purposes. This happened over several decades. In the early 1950s oil storage depots were developed on the site. A further ten acres were made available for development circa 1960.
From 1960, modern Cork Harbour began to emerge, with the construction of oil terminals, steel mills, shipyards, deep water ferry port and industrial base. The entire concept of transporting general cargo underwent radical changes with the introduction of containerisation. That brought about revolutionary changes in ports. Whereas previously the only requirements of general cargo services were quays and adjoining transit sheds, the ports now had to provide quays with high load-bearing qualities and wide aprons, specialised container cranes, large marshalling areas for containers and further specialised handling machinery within the container compounds. At Tivoli Industrial and Dock Estate new facilities included new container, roll-on roll-off and conventional berths, a 30-ton gantry-type container crane, a modern transit shed, a passenger terminal and office block and an extensive paved area for the marshalling of containers and commercial vehicles. Thirty-seven acres were allocated for general cargo purposes.
Cork was the first port in Ireland to set up a planning and development department. By 1972 this produced the Cork Harbour Development Plan in which a blueprint was designed for a future which would include sites such as that at Ringaskiddy, Little Island, and Cobh areas. By the middle of the present decade, employment in these industries is likely to exceed 5,000 people and the port’s frequent shipping services are an important factor in attracting new industries.
Next Walking Tours:
Sunday 9 June, Stories from Cork Docklands, historical walking tour with Kieran; meet at Kennedy Park, Victoria Road 2pm, free, duration, two hours, part of the Cork Harbour Festival and Sea Fest, finishes nearby.
Saturday, 22 June, The Friar’s Walk; historical walking tour with Kieran; Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack St, Callanan’s Tower & Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 11am; free, duration: two hours.
Sunday 23 June, The Lough & its Curiosities; historical walking tour with Kieran, explore the local history from the Legend of the Lough to suburban development; meet at green area at northern end of The Lough, entrance of Lough Road to The Lough; 2.30pm (free, duration: two hours).
Captions:
1000a. The Cork Horns on display in the Cork Public Museum (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
1000b. Albert Quay, c.1900 – Suttons is now marked by the Clayton Hotel formerly the Clarion Hotel on Lapp’s Quay (source: Cork City Museum)
by An Bord Pleanála with 16 pages of conditions- thanks to all locals who fought the case.
