260 hectares rezoned for housing in city

Cork City Council has approved the rezoning of 263.43 hectares (ha) of land in Cork city, as part of a variation to the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.

More than a dozen amendments were made to the plan during a two-hour discussion at the full council meeting on Monday 13 July. The variations have been made as part of a broader directive from Leinster House under the National Planning Framework, which was published in 2025.

The National Planning Framework Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, published in July 2025, requires local authorities across the country to zone additional land for residential development to meet revised housing growth targets.

Rezoning was approved in Douglas, Mahon, Ballincollig, Leghanamore, and Glanmire, as well as a number of other individual sites.

The majority of the land was rezoned for new residential neighbourhoods and for sustainable residential neighbourhoods.

Local opposition

The public consultation carried out by Cork City Council as part of the proposed variation received 484 submissions, the majority of which came from members of the public expressing concern with some aspect of the proposed rezoning.

Submissions highlighted the absence of essential infrastructure, such as transport, healthcare, schools, childcare, and utilities in the proposed areas, which would be made worse by more development.

The impact on the environment and flooding risks associated with the developments was another common feature across submissions.

Residents of Moneygourney, where 16.91 ha was rezoned for new residential neighbourhoods, were present in the public gallery during the meeting.

Cllr Honore Kamegni, who welcomed the group to the meeting, said he was “deeply disappointed” that the rezoning in the area had been approved.

The residents had previously organised a protest walk against the rezoning on Saturday 4 July on Maryborough Hill, where they were joined by a number of local councillors.

Rural one-off housing

The council also approved a change in policy regarding rural development, to make it easier for one-off housing developments in rural areas.

The changes were in keeping with a directive from the Government, which said that local authorities must not be “overly prescriptive” in their policies towards development in rural areas and an Gaeltacht.

However, Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran opposed the move, and said allowing one-off housing development was not planning policy, but rather the lack of one.

He said one-off housing amounted to the local authority washing its hands of rural residents, and planned developments would be lacking in vital infrastructure.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.