The blueprint, being prepared by Cork County Council, has earmarked massive development on land between Ballincollig’s town centre and its southerly bypass.

County council senior planner Andrew Hind said among the key issues to further development in Ballincollig is the town’s road connection with the city, and the number of people living in new homes who would avail of public transport.

“There are only three routes between Ballincollig and the city. You have the N40 [South Ring Road/Ballincollig bypass], the Straight Road [Carrigrohane Road] and the Model Farm Road. At this stage, we are not ruling in or out building a new connecting road from Ballincollig to the city.

“But we will have to look at how public transport links can be improved between the two locations before we come to that,” Mr Hind said.

He said the local authority would this year appoint transport consultants to examine routes, with the findings studied before any decisions are made.

The plan is similar to two masterplans recently unveiled by the local authority for Carrigtwohill and Water Rock near Midleton, at a site where it is envisaged 5,000 houses, a new railway station and a commercial centre will be built. The council aims to encourage people to live alongside the commuter rail line to reduce dependency on car travel.

Meanwhile, Mr Hind said preparatory work is underway on plans to open up areas for housing at Dunkettle and Ballinglanna, near Glanmire. Developers have expressed interest in building on the southern side of Glanmire, overlooking the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

The major investor there, Michael O’Flynn, has been refused planning permission for more than 1,000 houses on two occasions by An Bord Pleanála, primarily because the appeals board believed the Jack Lynch Tunnel/ Dunkettle interchange was at capacity and local roads could not handle the volume of traffic generated by the proposed development. Mr Hind said transport consultants had been appointed to see if some houses could be developed in the area in advance of a proposed €90m upgrade of what is the busiest junction outside of Dublin.

“We want to see if some development can go ahead there prior to the tunnel junction upgrade,” said Mr Hind.

However, when questioned recently by the Irish Examiner, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe refused to commit to funding for the interchange upgrade. The minister also did not disclose his hand in relation to important improvement works needed for the N28 (Cork-Ringaskiddy road) which would allow the Port of Cork progress plans to enlarge container-handling services at the deep-water quay in Ringaskiddy.

Mr O’Flynn welcomed the move by the council which could see local roads improved to allow for some development on his land.

“People are looking for housing in the Dunkettle area, because it’s a strategically important site. There is also a plan for a park-and- ride railway station close to it at North Esk, which makes it even more of an attraction,” he said.

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