PLANNING PERMISSION has been granted for a multi-million euro medical centre in Bishopstown, Cork city.
3G Partnership previously lodged two applications to Cork City Council to build a medical centre on the Wilton Road.
The first application was turned down in January 2007, while a second was granted in May 2007. However, residents in Wilton appealed the matter to An Bord Pleanála, which overturned the city council's decision.
A third amended application was launched, with the city council now giving permission for the project. Residents in Wilton have lodged over 30 objections, saying the facility would lead to traffic congestion. The Wilton Medical Centre will include facilities for a day surgery, specialist imaging and cancer services, a specialist children's clinic and a walk-in urgent care centre that will deal with minor injuries and illnesses.
3G Partnership says the new facility will be a boost to medical services in Cork, creating more than 150 full-time medical-related jobs. The Wilton Medical Centre, which will cost €65 million to build, is intended to complement Cork University Hospital and to relieve some of the pressure on medical services in Cork, according to the developers.
The developers says the latest design takes into consideration the planning, traffic and design issues raised by An Bord Pleanála and Cork City Council in the previous applications. Opponents to the project have four weeks to appeal the decision to grant planning permission to the project.
The five-storey building will comprise three basement levels for 205 car parking spaces, medical and health services, retail units and cafes on the ground floor.
This is the second private medical facility to receive planning permission in the Wilton-Bishopstown area in recent months. Planning permission was granted in March to the Beacon Medical Group to build a private hospital at Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork city, under the Government's co-location policy.
The project was granted permission despite 140 objections from residents. The majority of these, 98 per cent, related to traffic congestion, lighting, waste management and subsidence.