Redevelopment plan approved for Cork’s former Rochestown Inn 

Plans for a mixed-use development at the site of the former Rochestown Inn, badly damaged by a fire in 2015, have been green lit.

Last September, Niorsesa Ltd lodged the planning application with Cork City Council.

It included plans for a café, bar and 12 apartments – made up equally of six one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units.

The application said the plans, if approved, would see the demolition of the former pub and adjacent dwelling and the construction of a new structure – ranging from two to four storeys in height – to facilitate the new bar, café and apartments and one private office space.

“The site has been unoccupied for several years, and so has been left in a semi-derelict state.

“The proposed development will therefore aim to rejuvenate the area and convert a disused site into a vibrant mixed use building,” an architectural design statement submitted with the application said.

A proposal to redevelop the former Rochestown Inn was rejected by Cork City Council in early 2021.

The local authority sought further information before it made a decision on the application submitted last year.

The council asked the applicant to go back to the drawing board in relation to a number of aspects – including reducing the number of apartments proposed and revising the design.

An increased quantum of on-site car-parking was also among the revisions sought, with the council stating that there were “concerns that the proposed development will lead to illegal parking, dangerous parking and parking in nearby residential areas causing potential safety concerns”.

A number of amendments were made to the proposals on foot of the request for further information.

Among them, the applicant proposed a reduction of one apartment and an increase in car parking to seven spaces.

Cork City Council has now approved the planning application subject to 34 conditions.

The document with the conditions has not yet been published.