The CCDP can be accessed here: Cork County Development Plan 2022-2028

It is an extremely long document; sections relevant to greenways, Lee to Sea, and other issues can be found quickly with a text search through the webpage (Find = Control + F)

The response from the Lee2Sea Greenway Committee to the Cork County Council can be found here.

The CCDP states an overarching vision to develop “…County Cork as an attractive, competitive and sustainable place to live, visit and do business, where the quality of its economy, natural and built environment, culture and the strength and viability of its communities are to the highest standards, in accordance with all relevant Government Policy and Guidance.” (CCDP, Vol.1, p.19)

The L2S Greenway, probably more than any other project in the timeframe of the CCDP, delivers all these objectives. Although the CCDP mentions the L2S in a few places, it is obvious that the CCDP largely ignores the L2S Greenway. From the viewpoint of the L2S, the CCDP is extremely disappointing.

The CCDP has no specific objectives regarding the L2S.  The CCDP does not appear to recognise the unique characteristics and the strategic potential of the Lee to Sea, or its capacity to deliver multiple policy objectives in transport, leisure, placemaking, tourism, economic competitiveness, and the transition to a low carbon society. This is a wasted opportunity.

Key features of the L2S are not recognised in the CCDP:

  1. Its multifunctional nature for transport, leisure, tourism, and economic competitiveness
  2. It serves the largest population centres in County Cork
  3. It has nationally unique levels of national and international connectivity (bus, rail, plane, liner, ferry) & would be a gateway attraction for domestic & foreign visitors to the county
  4. It connects multiple, related heritage sites around Cork harbour, city, and Ballincollig, making them more accessible and interesting to locals and visitors alike
  5. It would relieve congestion around the harbour, and particularly in Carrigaline, Ireland’s most car-dependent town
  6. The L2S is eminently achievable. Many parts of the route already in place and requiring short connections which can be delivered over a short time frame.
  7. It would be a key enabler for the growth of Carrigaline, Passage West, Ringaskiddy, & Crosshaven, complement the ongoing Carrigaline TPREP, and address the serious local transport challenges in Carrigaline and harbour
  8. The CCDP does not seem to recognise that greenways could promote active travel for general transport
  9. The CCDP does not address the sustainability and climate implications of high car-dependence in the county.

The Development Plan is misaligned with both the spirit and the letter of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES), Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS), Cork Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (CMASP), and other planning documents. Failure to deliver what would undoubtedly be the most intensively used active travel route in the county would be a serious failure that shows that the county council neither either does not recognise the urgency of climate change and sustainability for future generations, or know which of its actions would be most effective toward mitigating emissions.

We recommend submissions to the County Council call for the reappraisal and prioritisation of the Lee to Sea Greenway and to elevate it as a short-to-medium term deliverable in the Cork County Development Plan, supported by the following:

  1. To identify the Flagship Lee to Sea Greenway within the Core Strategy (and associated map) as a strategic transport commuting route,
  2. To include a Plan Objective for the Flagship Lee to Sea Greenway as a short to medium term deliverable,
  3. To include within the objective a commitment to carry out a feasibility study for the entire route (Phase 1 Passage West to Crosshaven and Phase 2 Inniscarra to Ballincollig),
  4. To include use the Lee2Sea to promote active travel to work, school, and shopping around the region to support transition to a low carbon society in line with national targets to be carbon neutral by 2050,
  5. To develop a consistent universal design approach, placemaking sections to connect to cultural assets/transport interchange points/parks/open space, consistent strong brand identity for the Lee to Sea Greenway and to market it as a major attraction to Cork Metropolitan Area, Munster and Ireland.

MAKING SUBMISSIONS

Submissions on the CCDP can be made at the following link.

It may be helpful to register for an account with the council, but it is not necessary.

Submissions can be as short and simple, or as detailed as you would like.  Simply stating your disappointment in the lack of specific objectives around the L2S would be a helpful contribution.

FURTHER INFORMATION: CCDP and other planning documents

It is a statutory requirement for the CCDP to comply with higher level planning documents.

Draft Plan Vol.1 para 10.12.5 states: “Greenways are growing in popularity. Existing greenways in the county include the Cork Harbour Greenway along the old coastal rail line on the western side of Cork Harbour linking Blackrock in the City to Rochestown and on to Passage West. There is also a greenway from Carrigaline to Crosshaven. A feasibility study is being prepared on developing a greenway from Passage West to Carrigaline. If successful, it would link the existing greenways and 25km of linked greenway from the city to Crosshaven. This route also offers the potential to make important links with transport connections at the Carrigaloe cross river ferry (and hence onwards to Cobh) and more significantly, the passenger ferry terminal at Ringaskiddy.”

Draft Plan Vol.1 para 10.12.9 Refers to the Lee to Sea Greenway as a longer term project.

Draft Plan Vol.1 para 12.7.14 states “…is specifically supported in Southern RSES Cork MASP objectives 8i and 17c. CMATS identifies the ‘flagship Lee to Sea Greenway from Ballincollig to Crosshaven’ as a short to medium term deliverable.”

Draft Plan Vol.1 para 12.7.21 states: “It is an objective of the Council to deliver the Cork Harbour Greenway, a strategically important active travel commuting route linking Carrigaline to Passage West and Ringaskiddy and forming an element of the Lee to Sea Greenway.”

Cork Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan supports the Flagship Lee to Sea Greenway within sections 8 and 17.

  • SRA RSES CMASP 8 states: “Cycling: Implement and further develop upon the Cork Metropolitan Area Cycle Network Plan 2017, invest in infrastructure to support the integration of the cycle networks throughout the Cork Metropolitan Area and region, improve and develop primary, secondary, greenway (including the Lee to Sea Greenway) and feeder cycle networks and support cycling through provision of a high proportion of segregated cycleways to provide a safe infrastructure for all”
  • SRA RSES CMASP Objective 17 states: The implementation of Greenway initiatives that provide important economic, leisure and tourism, health, active and sustainable travel and environmental benefits to the metropolitan area including the Lee to Sea Greenway initiative subject to the outcome of environmental assessments and the planning process

Planning and Development Act 2000 (As Amended) Section 12 Making of Development Plan S18 states: “(18) In this section ‘ statutory obligations ’ includes, in relation to a local authority, the obligation to ensure that the development plan is consistent with…(a) (ii) the regional spatial and economic strategy…”