Save Marina Park.

SaveMarinaPark

A group has been set up to campaign for the retention of the planned Public Park down in the Marina on the land formerly used by the Munster Agricultural Society.

This land was compulsorily purchased by Cork City Council (for over €11m) in order to provide a public park for local residents and the future Docklands residents.

However the City Council now proposes to hand over a large portion (6 acres) of this land to the GAA for €1.6m for a private sporting facility which will not be open to local residents. Along with its associated car parking this facility will totally destroy the planned park.

Further information is available at www.savemarinapark.com

Owen

There's no reason for the GAA to have a larger facility, the one they have is hardly ever used to capacity, and even on the very rare occasions when it is, they have no parking facilities. If the GAA want a stadium, fine. Build it somewhere in the countryside where they can have a large facility, with ample parking that won't choke the city for an entire day everytime a fixture is on.

Having a sporting stadium in the city with no infrastructrure to support the thousands of cars that come with the sport is just plain stupid.

Outkast_IRE

Owen wrote: »

There's no reason for the GAA to have a larger facility, the one they have is hardly ever used to capacity, and even on the very rare occasions when it is, they have no parking facilities. If the GAA want a stadium, fine. Build it somewhere in the countryside where they can have a large facility, with ample parking that won't choke the city for an entire day everytime a fixture is on.

Having a sporting stadium in the city with no infrastructrure to support the thousands of cars that come with the sport is just plain stupid.

I would agree to an extent, but looking worldwide alot of stadiums are located on the outskirts of the city centre, if this gets the goahead it should be with a provision only with an investment on public transportation to and from city centre locations , to encourage people to leave the cars at home or park in the various car parks.

BUNK1982

I'm opposed to the County Boards plans but only on the 'centre of excellence' piece, makes no sense locating this in the docklands. Especially if it's for training camps and the like.

The stadium is in dire need of a revamp though, the current location is perfect in a scenic area that's within walking distance of the city centre. Building on a greenfiled site in the burbs would have a negative impact on the city from a cultural point of view.

SaveMarinaPark

As a group we are not against the refurb of Pairc Ui Chaoimh - this is needed.

We are against the destruction of the planned park in order to add another facility which will have a negative effect on the amenity of the area.

We are also working to ensure that local resident's rights are upheld on match and event days - we all have stories and images of the litter, damage and disruption wrought by match attendees.

Owen

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I would agree to an extent, but looking worldwide alot of stadiums are located on the outskirts of the city centre, if this gets the goahead it should be with a provision only with an investment on public transportation to and from city centre locations , to encourage people to leave the cars at home or park in the various car parks.

I'd agree, but Pairc Uí Chaoimh is far from the Outskirts. To get to it, you're required to drive specifically into the City, and it's right next to the river. You couldn't get more Central.

SaveMarinaPark wrote: »

As a group we are not against the refurb of Pairc Ui Chaoimh - this is needed.

We are against the destruction of the planned park in order to add another facility which will have a negative effect on the amenity of the area.

We are also working to ensure that local resident's rights are upheld on match and event days - we all have stories and images of the litter, damage and disruption wrought by match attendees.

I can add plenty of fire to those stories. We've to regularly clean up our park from litter after GAA matches. Other sporting events do clog up the roads, and cause safety hazards with thier parking, but only GAA matches have these problems compounded with litter. Fair play to you for tackling the problem head on.

Typewriter

SaveMarinaPark wrote: »

A group has been set up to campaign for the retention of the planned Public Park down in the Marina on the land formerly used by the Munster Agricultural Society.

This land was compulsorily purchased by Cork City Council (for over €11m) in order to provide a public park for local residents and the future Docklands residents.

However the City Council now proposes to hand over a large portion (6 acres) of this land to the GAA for €1.6m for a private sporting facility which will not be open to local residents. Along with its associated car parking this facility will totally destroy the planned park.

Further information is available at www.savemarinapark.com

Why are you not on Facebook Or Twitter?

SaveMarinaPark

Hi,


We are on twitter @savemarinapark and on Facebook as "Save Marina Park".

Our twitter hashtag is #savemarinapark

minidazzler

This is one of the reasons I hate the fookin GAA. Always blathering about their rights, taking some of the best land around and building pitches that only they can use. Being given the land for buttons simply because it'll be called a "community amenity".

I live in Mahon there are 2 soccer pitches, and maybe 6 GAA pitches just down the road, if I want to use them I'm not allowed because I'm not a member, yet when I was in school I distinctly remember the lord mayor at the time talking about how they were building those pitches for us.

Spending millions on pitches that only those who want to be in their club can use, and getting funding from the government for this crap.

SaveMarinaPark

To the best of my knowledge this second pitch isn't even being touted as a "community amenity" - it is planned (and stated) to be a "Centre of Excellence" for elite GAA players so young lads and lassies who puck or kick a ball around will not be welcome even though their parents will have (effectively) paid for the land.

Here in the City Nemo already have a centre of excellence and I believe that a number of non-city clubs have similarly equipped facilities any of which would be ideal for use by the County Board and which would provide revenue to cash-strapped clubs.

Nonoperational

Owen wrote: »

I'd agree, but Pairc Uí Chaoimh is far from the Outskirts. To get to it, you're required to drive specifically into the City, and it's right next to the river. You couldn't get more Central.

I always use the tunnel, never go near the city centre when I go to a game. It's no more central than the stadiums in a lot of other cities.

I sympathise about the litter, I never knew that was an issue. I can't understand who'd throw litter around the place after a game.

Personally I think it badly needs to be redeveloped into a decent 40k or so stadium and they need to put proper public transport links in place for big games. Pairc Ui Caoimh is a big part of Cork and hundreds of thousands of fans have enjoyed many great days out there. I'm sure they can put a plan in place that suits both sides.

The centre of excellence is important, it's been badly lacking for years. I don't live directly in the vicinity of the Pairc so I'm not in a fair position to comment on whether the currant location is the best for it.

SaveMarinaPark

Litter isn't the problem that folk have -

- We don't want a fine , extensive public park to be bisected in order to facilitate a private organisation,

- we don't want the City Council to gift public lands to a private organisation,

- we don't want land that was purchased for over €11m in order to provide a local park, to be sold for €1.6m on the basis of a private/personal agreement from our City Council.

BUNK1982

gpf101 wrote: »

The centre of excellence is important, it's been badly lacking for years. I don't live directly in the vicinity of the Pairc so I'm not in a fair position to comment on whether the currant location is the best for it.

The thing I've always said about this 'Centre of Excellence, is why do they need a building to set one up? Can they not just create a program and use the existing facilities like Mallow in North Cork, Clon in the West and take your pick of Nemo, UCC and CIT for the city.

There's no point comparing the set-up in Kilkenny and Waterford, Cork is about 3 times the size of them put together.

The Pairc should be redeveloped as part of a public amenity. The facilities for a Centre of Excellence are already in place if you ask me.

RadioClash

The same city council that nixed the Musgrave park redevelopment on land that the IRFU own(presumably because it was for a 'forrin' game). Then they hand over this parkland to the GAA to do what they want with it. Fairly shady, but the GAA have their proxies in councils up and down the country. No where is this more true than Cork.

minidazzler

minidazzler wrote: »

................

I live in Mahon there are 2 soccer pitches, and maybe 6 GAA pitches just down the road, if I want to use them I'm not allowed because I'm not a member, yet when I was in school I distinctly remember the lord mayor at the time talking about how they were building those pitches for us. ................

In fairness The lord Mayor was thinking ye might actually join the club

moceri

I think they should install the Infamous "SKY GARDEN" that the City Council wants to rack up €1.8m to complete. Tim Lucey, the City manager reckons that thousands of tourists will flock to Cork just to see the garden;.... A new seventh wonder of the world, like the hanging Gardens of Babylon.

I think they should call it "The Emperor's New Garden". It is bound to attract attention and noteriety, if only as a Monument to the Folly of Cork City Council and the Ego of Diarmuid Gavin. The citizens of Cork can sleep soundly in their beds, knowing their Household Tax is being wisely spent in these austere times.

SaveMarinaPark

The City Manager's report is now going forward to the full council for approval. You can read our response here:

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/managers-report/

SaveMarinaPark

Our April Newsletter is out

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/newsletters/

SaveMarinaPark

The City Council will be voting on the proposal to gift the GAA with public land next Monday evening.

We welcome all those who wish to demonstrate to the City Council that land which was bought for public use should be kept for public use and not handed over at a loss to the City's finances. (It is estimated that the loss on the sale of the land would be equivalent to 45,000 household charges - almost the entire City).

So come along and help Save Marina Park - Cork City Hall - assemble at 5.15 Monday 16th April.
--
Cork doesn't have enough public parks. Don't give the Showgrounds away and lose another park before it's even built! www.savemarinapark.com @savemarinapark

opus

I sent an email to the councillers in Cork South Central to lobby for this but sadly got the following bounces, doesn't fill me with hope for the other emails

Sean_Martin@corkcity.ie
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly.

fiona_kerins@corkcity.ie
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly.

What's the point of the councillors having email if they never read it :mad:

SaveMarinaPark

It's very annoying - has happened on many occasions.

Some councillors reply quite fast, some are a bit slower and a good few don't reply at all.

gubbie

gpf101 wrote: »

I always use the tunnel, never go near the city centre when I go to a game. It's no more central than the stadiums in a lot of other cities.

I sympathise about the litter, I never knew that was an issue. I can't understand who'd throw litter around the place after a game.

As a resident of the area I have to say that I have never noticed any significant rubbish problems when the GAA was on. Funderland brings far worse (if you notice a house with sick outside, that's mine).

Any green areas in the past few years has been swallowed up by developers trying to cash in on its proximity to town. Pairc Ui Rinn is practically around the corner. I don't know why they need another

Best of luck with the protest tomorrow

florodon2

Seems to me that the manager/officials of the City Council don't give a flying *uck about local residents. Proven by their covert attempts to sell off and privatise the Tank Field.

SaveMarinaPark

Thanks for all the comments.

The City Council voted on the matter last night.

We listened to many speeches which dwelt predominantly on how good the GAA is, how much it has done for children and how Cork needs the Centre of Excellence to be in the middle of our park so that it can win All-Irelands.

There were also speeches which dealt with the difficulties that the severance of our park will cause and with the anti-social behaviour that we witness after each match.

A number of councillors raised objections based on the procedures - they were expected to vote without any plans being available.

In the end the vote was 21 for, 9 against and the GAA can now proceed to buy the land for a song and apply for planning permission.

Needless to say we will be reading the planning application thoroughly.

namloc1980

I just don't get the GAA's and the Council's obsession with this Centre of Excellence down at the Pairc. Cork has a large number of excellent GAA facilities. In West Cork Clonakilty have an awesome set up. Mallow have a superb complex and in the City Nemo have a fine complex.

Pairc Ui Chaoimh obviously needs to be upgraded but I would much rather see a Cork GAA museum built adjacent to it which could be integrated into the Marina Park with statues etc of Cork GAA and sporting legends. These would be a focal point and awe inspiring for the youth of Cork. Instead we'll get this "Centre of Excellence" which will only be open to a the few and not the many.

KCAccidental

SaveMarinaPark wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments.

The City Council voted on the matter last night.

We listened to many speeches which dwelt predominantly on how good the GAA is, how much it has done for children and how Cork needs the Centre of Excellence to be in the middle of our park so that it can win All-Irelands.

There were also speeches which dealt with the difficulties that the severance of our park will cause and with the anti-social behaviour that we witness after each match.

A number of councillors raised objections based on the procedures - they were expected to vote without any plans being available.

In the end the vote was 21 for, 9 against and the GAA can now proceed to buy the land for a song and apply for planning permission.

Needless to say we will be reading the planning application thoroughly.

on your site you said that you had the support of Cllr Ted Tynan (WP), but according to the Echo he voted in favour of the motion. Can you confirm and give us any reason why he did so?

SaveMarinaPark

KCAccidental wrote: »

on your site you said that you had the support of Cllr Ted Tynan (WP), but according to the Echo he voted in favour of the motion. Can you confirm and give us any reason why he did so?

The site had now been updated to reflect turncoat Ted Tynan decision.

SaveMarinaPark

It has been a while since an update but we now have a graphic on our site ( www.savemarinapark.com ) showing the extent of the planned development and how it does destroy the planned park and also some existing amenties eg the Island in the Atlantic Pond.

SaveMarinaPark

Last Thursday we had an initial consultation meeting with Cork City Council and OKRA (the Company that won the tender for the design of the park).

This is the report:


This is just a brief up-date of a meeting we had on Thursday 17th May 2012 with Cork City Council and the OKRA Landscape Architects they have appointed to carry out the design of the proposed Marina Park.
The meeting was one of a number they had undertaken with various groups on the day who live in the immediate vicinity of the Marina and the proposed Marina Park.

At the outset it is worth saying that the project team’s willingness to engage with what you might call the ‘stakeholders’ was evident and this made a refreshing change to what we had experienced in relation to the whole sell-off of lands/re-zoning process where it was a real case of ‘their way or the highway’. That said, we were a bit wary that their version of consultation might just be a case of listen-nod-sympathise-ignore as is often the case when it comes to public consultation. We made this fear known to them.

The project group told us that this meeting would be followed up by a wider consultation with a broader section of the community. We thought that this was a good idea as the more they understand about how people (both the immediate residents and the wider community) use the existing areas and how they want the areas developed to meet their needs, both now and in the future, the more acceptable will be their proposals.

Two of our local councillors attended the meeting as well; Cllr. Des Cahill (FG) and Cllr. Denis O’Flynn.

There wasn’t much in the way of detailed plans and all OKRA had to display were their conceptual designs (the ones they’d sketched up in their bid to win the work). These are the drawings that were recently featured on this site and were shown in the Evening Echo. We emphasised that the blatant lack of an open space in these drawings where a family or friends could picnic, puck a ball, throw a Frisbee, fly a kite or just sit about and read under our rarely seen sunny skies was not acceptable to us.

If you’ve seen this conceptual drawing you can see that the overall flow of the proposed park is interrupted by the ‘second GAA pitch’ – the all weather centre of excellence as it’s now being referred to. The drawing was broken down into layers so you could see the areas that would be used for wetlands, for flood management, for activities, for cultural events and so forth. All very nice and soft-focus. One thing that caught our eye was that the only activity spaces were the two GAA pitches: Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the all weather pitch. Both to be fenced off from public access.

This angered us as we felt that every other species, plant and animal, was being included in the conceptual design but the upright, two legged species, the people of the city, were being given no space to exercise or play with their children. The project team told us that the brief they had required that they include this in the design. This was part of our problem with the whole process.
The Council have issued a brief for this work prior to the re-zoning vote and prior to any grant of planning permission that specifically includes the all-weather pitch in this location. A real case of cart before the horse.

To be fair, the project team acknowledged this point and conceded that this was something they could do nothing about. They accepted that the only people who could influence the location of the second pitch were the residents and others who could object through the planning process.
Or the GAA could seek some sort of compromise on the location of this pitch that would allow the proposed park to reach it’s full potential and to allow the GAA to still keep their centre of excellence.

We had some general discussions about the proposed bridge next to the Páirc (something that will take decades to build, if it ever gets built), the water quality in the Atlantic Pond and the phasing of the works.

We concluded by telling them that we thought the engagement was positive and that we would welcome the opportunity to consult with them as much as possible in the future. I think the description we used was that we would travel with them for a far as we could go and hopefully this would be to a point where we would get the public open spaces we were promised when the land was originally purchased and these would fit into a park designed to a very high standard.

SaveMarinaPark

If you have comments or proposals in relation to the park design they can be submitted up to 8 June 2012

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/design-consultation/

SaveMarinaPark

“We don’t need 45,000-seat GAA ground”

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/566/

SaveMarinaPark

Marina Park Draft Masterplan

http://savemarinapark.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Marina-Park.jpg

Still no sign of the GAA's planning application for the "Centre of Excellence" and redevelopment of the Stadium.

SaveMarinaPark

Press release: Marina Park Draft Masterplan
Posted on November 30, 2012
The Save Marina Park Group welcomes the recent submission by OKRA Landscape Architects of the Marina Park Draft Masterplan and looks forward to engaging in meaningful consultation with the City Council and other stakeholders in the coming weeks. From the information available to us at this stage it appears that the proposed Marina Park has been designed exclusively with the needs of the stadium redevelopment plan in mind.

The proposed Marina Park needs to cater for the recreational needs of a broad spectrum of users from the daily local user to the once-a-year GAA fan. However these proposals seem skewed towards the needs of the stadium which lies idle for 93% of the year.

Illustrating this is the fact that the amount of land allocated to public sports facilities is equivalent to a tennis court-sized space and lies in the path of a planned road (Eastern Gateway approach) and the remaining green area is compromised by the development needs of the stadium.

We hope that through consultation these matters can be clarified and a proper balance serving the needs of all stakeholders can be achieved for the benefit of Cork, its environs and its people.

Note to editor: The Save Marina Park Group was formed following a public meeting in October 2011 arranged by Cllr.Des Cahill (FG) and attended by Cllr. Denis O’Flynn (LAB), Cllr. Chris O’Leary (SF) and Bob Ryan of the GAA Cork County Board that highlighted the proposed re-zoning issue and the proposed re-development of the stadium.

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/press-release-marina-park-draft-plan/

Corcaigh84

I'm from the area and I'm just wondering: Why do you want a green area down in the showgrounds area specifically? The points I've seen so far in favour are 1) a place to play with your kids and 2) somewhere to exercise.

I go running down the marina regularly for exercise, and when I was a kid there was no lack of green areas to kick a ball around, so I don't particularly think another open space is going to add much to the area.

I take your point about litter but to be fair it's the price to be paid when the stadium is packed. It happens in every stadium unfortunately, surely the area gets it back in the cash spent in pubs, shops, etc?

To be honest the concept of a Centre of Excellence to help Cork get back winning All Irelands is a worthy cause in my opinion.

This sounds a bit trollish I know but I haven't seen too much on the other side of the argument

GavRedKing

The plan looks good, lot of area for development down here.

I work about 2 minutes away and grew up only just past the castle so it would be nice to see the area get a re-development.

The proposed bridge to connect the other side of the river would be an excellent idea but not sure if its viable as ships still sell up towards the city and woudl require a high bridge which doesnt seem viable or maybe dredge the channel or maybe a moveable bridge all seems expensive but could be worth it, it woudl easy congestion if there was a match on but as the report mentioned the stadium is idle alot of the time so a bridge maybe out of the question given the proximity of the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

nuttz

As someone living very close by, I think the plans look good. I would have liked the following:

• Street lighting all along the river, in the park and on the railway line all the way up to the Mahon.
• Footpaths very where on the map in the attached plans to be level/flat. (for anyone jogging the footpaths can be very uneven in places).
• The think that the all weather pitch should be open to the general public and open to non GAA sports. Any other facilities there should also be open to the public and not restricted to a "club/organisation".

Nonoperational

Looks good, would be nice for Cork to have a top class stadium and hopefully 2 top class teams filling it.

SaveMarinaPark

thefloss wrote: »

To be honest the concept of a Centre of Excellence to help Cork get back winning All Irelands is a worthy cause in my opinion.

A centre of excellence for a county the size of Cork needs to be more than one pitch. http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/gaa-centres-of-excellence/

SaveMarinaPark

Marina Park daft masterplan with comments added http://savemarinapark.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Marina-Park-markup.jpg

SaveMarinaPark

In advance of the Cork City Council meeting City Hall, 6PM Monday 10th November 2012.
Here are the key points in relation to the Showgrounds / Marina Park.

The Second Pitch:

• Size of two standard playing pitches.
• Not municipal.
• Wrong location. http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/alternatives/
  
• Separates the Marina Park from the Atlantic Pond.
• A synthetic
  pitch does not make a Centre of Excellence: http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/gaa-centres-of-excellence/
  
• Seeking planning permission for the second pitch will delay the redevelopment of the Stadium.
  
• Flood plain: http://www.opw.ie/media/Lee%20CFRAMS%20Draft%20Catchment%20Flood%20Risk%20Management%20Plan.pdf
  
• City pays twice for the Marina Park if the Convent Lands are acquired.
• Creates additional traffic issues in the Ballintemple area. http://youtu.be/UGLooAtxU08

http://savemarinapark.com/index.php/press-release-marina-park-draft-plan/

opus

Going by the Indo, the residents have reached some agreement with the GAA about the redevelopment.

A PROPOSED €70m redevelopment of the GAA's Pairc Ui Chaoimh stadium in Cork was dramatically boosted when a residents' group said it has reached an agreement over the project

More....

evilivor

opus wrote: »

Going by the Indo, the residents have reached some agreement with the GAA about the redevelopment.

I think that piece should say that some residents have reached some agreement with the GAA.

The planing objections by another local resident and the Save Marina Park group have not been removed. I don't think Ballintemple Area Residents’ Association had an official objection in.