Joe Leogue
Objectors to a €220m Cork motorway that has received approval from An Bord Pleanála have said they will consider their options in the coming days — including potential court action — to prevent the development from going ahead.
The objectors reaction come as Cork County Council said it will now consider the next steps with a view to ensuring that it can progress to construction on the €220m Cork-Ringaskiddy motorway “as soon as possible”.
The M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway will link the Bloomfield Interchange on the existing N28 junction with the N40 South Ring road junction and the Port of Cork to the east of the village of Ringaskiddy.
The local authority said the 13km motorway would improve the safety of the existing N28 route while facilitating the relocation of the Port of Cork container terminal from Tivoli to Ringaskiddy, which in turn would free up a land bank for development in the city centre.
The proposal was subject to a 12-day oral hearing last year, during which a number of objectors, including residents living along the proposed route, raised their concerns about the motorway’s potential impact on traffic in the area and the health and wellbeing of local residents, among other issues.
Gerard Harrington, spokesperson for the M28 Steering Group that objected to the development, told the Irish Examiner that the announcement was “not totally unexpected” given the recent decision by the planning authority to approve the Indaver incinerator in Ringaskiddy.
The M28 as it will look from Rowans Hill
Brendan Keating, CEO, Port of Cork Company, welcomed the announcement.
“An adequate road network will enable the port to provide an efficient service to our customers and to continue to meet the economic needs of the region and future proof Cork as an international gateway for trade,” he said.
More information relating to An Bord Pleanála's decision can be read here
* Read more from Joe Leogue on this issue in tomorrow's Irish Examiner