Planning officers at Cork City Council will today (Thursday, May 1) give their verdict on the biggest planning application ever to come before the city planners.

The planning application from developers Howard Holdings envisages a €1 billion mixed-use development in Cork's Docklands to include a 28 storey skyscraper, major events centre, luxury hotel, new city park, offices, shops and residential units.

If given the green light the project would create 4,800 jobs and become home to 1,600 people. Howard Holdings say that if there are no planning hold ups they will begin construction of the Atlantic Quarter development before the end of the year.

The proposals also include the construction of a new bridge across the River Lee which Cork City Council has applied for central funding to complete under the Gateways Fund. Officials at City Hall are quietly confident that their application for funding for the bridge will be successful.

Howard Holdings Chief Executive, Greg Coughlan says that the entire project could be delivered within five years if planners give the green light.

The developers are optimistic that today's decision will go in their favour as only four submissions have been received in relation to the application, a tiny number considering the scale of the proposed development.

The Irish Aviation Authority submission requires the erection of aircraft warning lights on any structures above 60 meters in height. The South West Regional Fisheries Board also made a submission seeking guarantees that the development would not obstruct an existing stream adjacent to the site but also welcomed the development as an opportunity to carry out remedial works in the area.

There was just one objection to the plan on the basis of the height of the proposed buildings with this objector also opposing the extension of the usual planning period from five to 10 years.

Perhaps most serious is a submission from the Health and Safety Authority (HAS) which advises against the granting of planning because of the existence of SEVESO sites in the vicinity of the development site. SEVESO sites are sites identified under an EU Directive that have the potential to cause a major accident because of the presence of dangerous substances.

It is understood that two such sites have been identified by the HAS as having the potential to impact on the Atlantic Quarter site prompting the HAS to advise against the granting of planning. Cork City Council said they could not comment until the planning decision had been made, but it is likely that arrangements could be made to clean up the offending sites relatively easily if this was to be made a condition of planning being granted.

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