James O'Connor: East Cork needs land for sport and community
James O'Connor asks the Minister for support to secure land for recreational and community facilities in East Cork, a rapidly growing area facing acute capacity pressures. He outlines local growth, major infrastructure projects and the urgent need for pools, athletics facilities and community spaces to serve future populations.
Growth and pressure
James O'Connor highlights East Cork as one of the fastest growing regions, delivering a large share of Cork County Council's future housing target. He references a population of about 50,000, the new town at Water Rock and major rail investment as drivers of increased demand for community infrastructure.
Shortage of facilities
O'Connor describes an urgent shortfall in recreational capacity: no community pool and insufficient athletics facilities outside the Carrigtohill to Midleton corridor. He warns that lands suitable for community use are competing with developers, intensifying the risk that amenities will not keep pace with new housing.
Request to Government
He asks the Government to support him and local groups in acquiring land for future community needs. The request focuses on securing space now so that recreational facilities, playing pitches and community centres are available as new communities grow.
Planning and funding
In reply, the Minister stresses the role of county development plans and collaboration with local authorities and councillors. O'Connor and the Minister point to the national development plan and departmental funding routes - sporting agencies, community grants and active travel programmes - as parts of the solution, while emphasising that local planning and zoning must come first.
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I want to ask the Minister in relation to the needs of the East Cork area. East Cork is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. It's expected to deliver 40% of Cork County Council's future housing target growth. We have a population of 50,000 people, a new town being constructed in Water Rock, €1.4 billion being invested in the new rail corridor and the Cork Metropolitan Area Rail Corridor. The problem we do have, Minister, unfortunately, is the capacity for recreational facilities in the East Cork area and lands that are competing with developers for access to critical community infrastructure. We are lacking in a community pool, we're lacking in an athletics facility outside of the Middleton-Carrie Toohill Corridor. My question to Government is that can they give support to myself and groups looking for support from Government in respect of actually acquiring land for future needs? This is very much needed for recreational facilities, it's needed for future population growth and we know by the figures that are there right now that the need is very acute for this facility. Thank you Deputy. I think we all know as local representatives, because first and foremost we're local representatives, how important it is when we build new homes that we're building new communities as well. It's not just houses, it's shops, it's community centres, it's recreational facilities, it's playing pitches, it's schools, it's all of the things that we need to build a new community. And what's really important to get that right is when we're developing our county development plans, that the local authority is looking at all of these different options. I know at the moment, and certainly in my own county, we're working on a variation of our current county development plan, but that there will be a process in place now for every county to develop a new county development plan. And I would say it's that time, working with our local councillors and the local authorities, that we need to ensure that any new planning that is supported with these facilities that you've mentioned, or the space and the zoning for these new facilities, and then beyond that we have a national development plan which doesn't just focus on our critical infrastructure, but within that there is funding that can be announced by different departments, be it through sporting, for sporting agencies, for community centres, for active travel programmes, and various different ways that we all obviously then advocate for, but I think working with the local authority it's really important that that work is put in place first.
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