February 2024
Hi, there! — Welcome to the twenty-third edition of my monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on my work for Cork City North East.
This month we have motions on speed limits in residential areas, camera-enforcement of traffic laws, as well as questions on tree removals in Mayfield and local amenities in Glanmire.
I’ve also included updates on Green Party initiatives on vacant properties, safeguards for tenants, a playground for Mayfield–Montenotte, and junction upgrades in Glanmire.
If you have thoughts or feedback on any issue in the ward, or if there’s ever anything you want to get in touch about, always feel welcome to email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Please also consider sharing this newsletter with your neighbours and friends in the ward.
Many thanks!
Oliver
p.s. You can use this link to easily share all my monthly newsletters ... oliver.ie/newsletter
Motions and notions
Every month, each councillor can submit up to four motions to Cork City Council and ask two formal questions of the Chief Executive. One of these questions is asked at the Local Area Committee and must be about local operational matters.
Before the deadline each month, I meet with my local group, the Cork City North Greens, and we agree motions and questions for the month ahead. We call this our “motions and notions” meeting :-)
If you have ideas or suggestions for a motion, or have a question you want asked, just let me know!
Or join the Cork City North Greens ... my.greenparty.ie
Questions
“To ask the Chief Executive the reason for tree removals in a Landscape Preservation Zone north of the North Ring Road and in the vicinity south of Barnavara Crescent; and what remedial works will be taken to restore the tree canopy and landscape that is lost?”
I will also ask the following question at the Local Area Committee meeting on Monday, 26 February:
“To ask the Chief Executive for the status of the lease to the FAI for the previously-planned centre of excellence to be located in Glanmire; if alternative plans for the site are being considered by either the FAI or Cork City Council; and if the terms of the lease would allow other community uses for the site to be progressed in absence of plans by the FAI?”
Motions
“That Cork City Council will periodically locate mobile speed-activated radar signs within special 30km/h zones (such as housing estates) to emphasise the speed limit in these areas and communicate to motorists their speed.”
“That Cork City Council will extend the double yellow lines at the entrance to Brandon Crescent, off the Old Youghal Road, to maintain vehicular access; and install traffic calming measures within the estate.”
“That Cork City Council will install a raised table for traffic calming and pedestrian safety at the courtesy crossing near Riverview on Hazelwood Avenue in Glanmire.”
“That Cork City Council agrees the urgency of camera-based enforcement of junctions and bus/cycle lanes and utilising bus-mounted cameras to detect and enforce illegal parking in bus lanes (actions 67 and 122 of the Phase 1 Action Plan 2021–2024 of the Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030); and will forward this motion to the Road Safety Transformation Partnership Board seeking an update on the development of the National Camera-Based Enforcement Strategy that is being led by Transport Infrastructure Ireland; and requests the implementation of camera-based enforcement of junctions, bus/cycle lanes and utilising bus-mounted cameras in Cork as soon as possible to protect transport investments and to assist the city in reaching its climate action ambitions.”
What’s happening?
Green Party initiatives on housing
In the past year, Cork City Council completed 1,329 homes and 1,267 more are being built. As well as continuing to steadfastly support that programme, there are a number of new initiatives that the Green Party are particularly associated with.
One of these is not-for-profit cost-rental housing, of which there are schemes located in Glanmire and now planned in the North Docks. Two other schemes are grants for bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use and the tenant-in-situ scheme for tenants facing eviction.
Grants are now available for vacant and derelict properties of between €50,000—€70,000. Ninety applications were approved under this scheme by Cork City Council in 2023. There are more than 60 more in progress. Two-thirds of these were vacant properties and the remainder were derelict properties, totaling over €8m in grants.
In addition, ten properties were compulsorily purchased directly by Cork City Council last year. The staff budget to tackle vacancy has increased from just €24,000 to €175,000 this year. This will be used to prepare court cases against owners of derelict buildings and for empty properties to be purchased.
The other scheme I want to highlight is the tenant-in-situ scheme. This allows Cork City Council to purchase the property of a tenant facing eviction, allowing the tenant to remain in place while the sale proceeds.
Last year, nearly 150 tenant-in-situ sales were agreed by Cork City Council. In all those cases, the tenants have been prevented from being evicted as soon as the property goes sale-agreed.
In their latest quarterly report, Threshold described the scheme as “another option for renters and ensured that many now have homes for life”. Based on its success, Threshold recommends that local authorities now set a goal of buying at least half of the rental properties that private residential landlords intend to sell.
Mayfield–Montenotte playground
Over the past year, I’ve been working with officials and a group in the Ashmount area on the prospect of a playground in the Mayfield/Montenotte area.
This month, officials reported that a preliminary design, including paths and potential play facilities, will be developed in conjunction with local groups looking at a site on the Boherboy Road.
The timescale for the delivery of the preliminary design will be dependent on the availability of staff to carry out this work. However, it’s anticipated that this project could commence later in 2024.
Once the preliminary design is complete, the overall cost can then be estimated — at which point funding options will need to be considered.
There’s enormous demand for a playground of scale in the area. The current site that’s being examined is especially strategic because it’s at the southern tip of an area that zoned for a North East regional park.
That means what can begin as a small park and playground now could gradually develop into a regional park over time.
Right now, the focus of the community is on a playground. Many parents I speak to find themselves having to travel to Glounthaune, where there’s an especially nice playground but it’s so far away. So the idea of a playground like that for the Mayfield and Montenotte area is something parents really want.
There’s been a stop-start to that campaign but the current group are committed and engagement with officials is very encouraging.
The latest report is a very positive development. It’s the first real roadmap for the plan that sets out what needs to happen with timeframes. That really gives heart that this is something that could now finally get underway.
Works on-going across Glanmire
Works combining flood defenses and an upgrade of the Hazelwood junction are underway in Glanmire, which are causing traffic delays while they are being worked on.
I’m in regular communication with engineers about these works. The three-way stop-go system will be in place for a short time longer. There will be two-way stop-go systems in place for the next few months. However, the picture after a few months will be much better for everyone.
The junction upgrade will mean the installation of traffic lights, new filter lanes, new footpaths, pedestrian crossings and cycle lanes at Hazelwood. Footpaths and a pedestrian crossing of the junction from the steps near St Joseph’s Church to the Hazelwood Centre are also being installed.
Works across Glanmire are likely for the next few years ahead. Last month, I proposed that Cork City Council would put in place a HVG plan for the area.
In particular, I proposed restricting routes, movements and/or times of access for HGVs in the area, especially considering the historic nature of the road network. These include Church Hill, Glanmire Bridge and Riverstown Bridge, and also the dominantly commuter-pattern of traffic in the area.
In response, officials have agreed that Glanmire will be added to the list of areas that require assessment in relation to HGV access.
In the meantime, members of the public can sign-up for free text alerts while the current works are on-going by texting GFRS to 50015 to receive regular updates.
In the news…
MEP to explore if EU legislation could safeguard Cork’s Murphy’s Rock
Grace O’Sullivan acknowledged the work of her party colleague, councillor Oliver Moran, who proposed a successful amendment to the city development plan in 2022.
Echo, Tuesday, 6 February
Cork’s discoloured water problems to persist with ‘no assurances’ on when it will end
“I had to press them to admit that the water is definitely not safe to drink when it is discoloured,” said Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran.
Irish Independent, Thursday, 18 January
Ringing in phone box revamp
Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran said: “There’s now a generation of people for whom public telephone boxes is something from a different era.”
Cork Independent, Wednesday, 10 January
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading! Please feel welcome to share this newsletter and invite other people you know to subscribe — and, if you can, please consider making a donation to my 2024 re-election campaign.
You can also keep up to date with my activities on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon and TikTok. And don’t forget, you can email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Have a great month!
