Families concerned new development may encroach on Bessborough burial site

A campaign group set up to represent the families of infants who died in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork has expressed concerns that a developer is planning to apply for permission to build residential units on land where they believe babies may be buried.

Maureen Considine of the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance (CSSA) said the group was concerned that developer MWB Two Ltd was applying for permission to build 92 residential units on the former grounds of Bessborough in Blackrock.

Last year MWB Two Ltd was refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for a larger 179 apartment development on a 3.7 acre site because of concerns it would impact on a site that may contain the remains of babies who died at the home between 1922 and 1998.

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in its final report in January 2021 found that the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, which ran the home, failed to keep proper burial records and the burial places of some 859 infants are unknown.

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An Bord Pleanála, when ruling on the previous application by MWB Two Ltd following an oral hearing, cited the Commission of Investigation report and voiced concerns that the proposed development might encroach on a possible site of infant burials.

“The Board considers that there are reasonable concerns in relation to the potential for unrecorded burials with the application site, associated with the former use of the lands as a Mother and Baby Home over the period 1922-1998,” said An Bord Pleanála in its decision on May 25th 2021.

“The Board considers it would be premature to grant permission for the proposed development, before establishing if there are unrecorded burials within the site and the extent of any such burials,” it added.

CSSA has expressed renewed concern over the new application with Ms Considine pointing out that while her group has yet to see the precise location for the new development, it is worried it may impact on a site marked as Children’s Burial Ground on a 1950 map.

Ms Considine said the apprehension was fuelled by an interview that Declan Harrington of PFS Private, which is managing the project, gave on the Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1 on September 7th last when he did not rule out some future development on the site marked as the Children’s Burial Ground.

“I feel uncomfortable that MWB Two are retaining ownership because when Declan Harrington was on with Claire Byrne on her radio show, she specifically asked him would they be building on the site marked Children’s Burial Ground and he said ‘not for the time being’ so that’s a huge concern.

“My general concern about the latest proposal is that they still privately own a children’s burial ground – I think they should not seek planning until they have donated that ground to the state or to the local authority – who wants to own a children’s burial ground?

“The issue about building elsewhere on the site is that MWB Two’s own team at An Bord Pleanála’s oral hearing noted that the topsoil had been heavily disturbed so I am concerned that remains could have been dispersed through the site,” she said.

MWB Two Ltd, in a statement confirming it had applied for planning for the 92-unit development, said the development will involve a €40 million investment and that the application is being “project managed by PFS Private, a property development company based in Ballincollig, Cork”.

The development will involve the construction of two buildings ranging in height from five to eight storeys and will include 43 one-bed units, 30 two-bed units and 18 three-bed units as well as a creche with capacity for 25 children, parking facilities and bike storage, it said.

MWB Two Ltd said that the development has been planned and designed with a focus on social and affordable housing units.

Mr Harrington said: “This proposed development will provide affordable housing solutions for people living and working close to Cork City, which there is a direct, urgent need for as the local population continues to grow rapidly.”

He said the project will create between 170 and 200 jobs during the construction phase and the planning application for the project has been “meticulously prepared, in order to accommodate a range of views on the location of the development”.