Roads, houses top €517m Cork County Council spending plan
Cork County Council has revealed it intends to spend some €160.5m alone on social housing over the period of its 2017-2019 capital programme, the largest single allocation under the scheme.
Presenting the plan to councillors in County Hall yesterday, the council’s head of finance, Loraine Lynch, described the proposed spending plan as an “ambitious programme” that will be subject to annual review.
“It is a good indication of what we hope to achieve over the next three years,” she said.
The bulk of the spending — €389m — is contractually committed spending for ongoing programme of works while the remaining €128.6m is subject to further funding being secured.
The council aims to spend €13.7m on voluntary housing over the lifetime of the programme, and predicts it will spend €191.7m on housing in total over the three years when social housing and other housing projects are included.
The local authority has predicted that it will deliver 498 housing units this year.
Some €163.6m is allocated for roads, including €86.7m for national routes and €9.7m for regional roads.
National roads earmarked for spending include the N22 Macroom-Ballyvourney by-pass and the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy road.
Other sizeable allocations include €35.3m for flood relief measures, €37.4m for the remediation of Haulbowline and €27.1m for recreation and amenity projects.
These include playgrounds, waterways and blueways, the refurbishment of the Briary Gap Theatre in Macroom, and the redevelopment of Mallow Town Hall into a North Cork Arts Centre.
There are also funds allocated for a skatepark in Carrigaline and greenway projects in Cork Harbour and from Youghal to Midleton.
Tourism projects will benefit from €10.8m capital funding, while €2.7m will be spent on libraries.
A further €6.4m will be spent on Coastal Protection measures, such as harbour improvement works, new marine and leisure pontoons and storm damage repair to coastal and harbour protection walls, breakwaters and revetments.
More than €4m will go towards funding traffic and transportation planning, and in 2017 there are plans for the second and third phases of a cycle track in Ballybrack, Douglas; a junction upgrade at Little Island; a Donnybrook Hill pedestrian enhancement scheme; and improvements to Douglas Village.
The investments in Douglas will continue as proposals outlined in the Douglas Land Use and Transportation Study, the aim of which, the council says, “is to provide sustainable travel infrastructure and to improve the uptake of travel by modes other than the private car”.
It further proposes transportation studies in Little Island, Castletownbere, and Carrigaline.
While the programme received a broad welcome from coucillors, some issues were raised with specific allocations.
Independent councillor John Paul O’Shea said the €3m ring-fenced for foothpaths is not enough when spread over three years and divided out among the local authority’s eight municipal districts.
Fianna Fáil’s Frank O’Flynn said it was taking the council too long to turn around voided social houses to new tenants, and while welcoming allocations for playgrounds, said CCTV systems were needed to deter vandalism.
