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