These are anxious days for the Mahon Community Association in Cork, which represents almost 14,000 people, as it awaits a decision from An Bord Pleanála on a private development that could bring badly needed jobs and amenities to the area.
Unemployment is over 11 per cent in the area, and the community has been seeking jobs, community centres, leisure facilities and sports fields, the amenities people need when they put down roots.
When the area was developed, largely for local authority housing, planners omitted these essential elements. Now, through private enterprise, a chance has presented itself to have all of these facilities in one fell swoop. The decision rests with An Bord Pleanála which has just completed an oral hearing into two objections to a €444 million project already given the go-ahead by Cork Corporation.
O'Callaghan Properties Ltd (OCP), with the approval of the local authority, wants to develop a business and technology park; a retail park with various units; a shopping centre, with department store, supermarket, small shopping units and restaurants; a national trade centre; a 150-bedroom hotel, and a leisure centre.
The project, OCP said, would create 3,500 full-time and 2,500 part-time jobs as well as 2,000 building jobs during five years of construction. The Mahon Community Association, a strong organisation which elects its council through a direct voting system within the community, has welcomed the proposals with open arms.
Not only would thousands of jobs be created, but the area would be given the kind of infrastructure and facilities that would never come its way were it left to the State.
The association views the project as a good example of public and private enterprise at work. The local authority freed up one of the last major land banks available in Cork, and in an open tender process invited submissions from the private sector.
An adjudication panel which included the Dublin city manager, the chief assistant planning officer of Dublin Corporation, the managing director of the National Housing Association and three officials from Cork Corporation sifted through 25 submissions and chose O'Callaghan Properties.
Of the €52 million raised from the sale of the land, over €2 million was earmarked specifically for improvement projects in the Mahon/Blackrock area. Mr Finbar Murphy of the Mahon Community Association described the project as "a great deal for Mahon".
"The project has such a mix there should be a job for everyone in the community," he said. "That prospect would have huge social implications for the area. It would give people new independence and pride in their community. We would have a hotel and leisure facilities, playing facilities, both indoor and outdoor, for the young. It would be the beginning of a whole new era for Mahon.
"Now we have an anxious wait while An Bord Pleanála makes up its mind. The opportunity being presented here is for people to get training for new skills and to be able to live and work in their own area. It would take Mahon out of the disadvantage trap. We have excellent schools in this area, but no employment prospects for our young people when they finish schools.
"Most of the houses are in private ownership now, having been bought from the local authority. This project is exactly what Mahon needs to begin building a new future," Mr Murphy said.
There were no objections from local people, none from city-centre business interests or the Cork Business Association, none from the Chamber of Commerce and none from environmental or heritage organisations.
The two objections lodged with An Bord Pleanála came from Douglas Developments, owner of two shopping centres in Douglas, and RGDATA, supported by the Musgrave Group.