PLANS for a €200m development at Mahon Point have hit a major stumbling block after planners at Cork City Council raised concerns over traffic.
Mahon Point 2.0 provides for the construction of 251 apartments, an office block for up to 580 workers, a new civic plaza, a multi-storey car park, a discount retailer and up to ten bigger retail outlets including a Decathlon.
However City Hall now wants assurances over the scale of the project, on a brownfield site adjacent to the existing Mahon Point, and the potential impact on transport and other infrastructure.
The planning application was lodged by Deka Immobilien in July for the mixed-use development but further information is being sought by local authority planners.
Shortly after plans were unveiled councillors said they were looking forward to seeing the plans and were, in the main, happy to see any development that would provide additional housing.
But some warned that traffic would be an issue and an extra entrance or exit would be required onto the link road before the tunnel.
Unveiling the plans Justin Young, director at Mahon Point Shopping Centre, said the new centre could serve the community for the next 20 years.
He added: ‘By placing homes, sustainable transport, and civic amenities at the core of this vision, we hope to create a new chapter in Cork’s growth that reflects community values as much as economic ambition.’
Mahon Point opened in 2005 with plans at the time for a 200-bed, four-star hotel which have since been shelved.
