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Minutes of Council meetings- list.:THURSDAY 26th FEBRUARY, 2009MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEE OF COBH TOWN COUNCIL, HELD AT CARRIG HOUSE, COBH, ON THURSDAY 26th FEBRUARY, 2009. Presiding - Cllr. D. Crowley Present - Councillors P. Histon, S. Meade, S. O’Connor, M. Keating, N. Doyle, K. McCarthy and P. Whitty. OFFICIALS PRESENT Ms. M. Ryan, Town Manager Mr. P. Lynch, Town Clerk. Mr. P. Cacciotti, Town Architect In Attendance - Waikeen Ng, Paddy Quinlan and Fergal Ryan – Scott Tallon Walker, Architects Elaine Brick – Faber Maunsell An apology for his inability to attend was received from Cllr. Mulvihill. 1. Draft Cobh Urban Design Feasibility Study Cllr. Crowley welcomed the representatives from Scott Tallon Walker to the meeting and invited them to present the Draft Study to the members. Mr. Ng briefly set out the contents of the draft study. The study looked at issues such as: 1. Public realm and accessibility 2. 3 potential Marina locations – Dockyard, Whitepoint, Connolly St. 3. Transport & Parking – road access, water, rail 4. Economic, social and environmental sustainability 5. An examination of specific areas of the town front, including proposals for each area 6. Cost estimates and timeframes for each proposal. Ms. Brick referred to the appendices which dealt with traffic and parking issues as well as the marina locations. These looked at each of the 3 potential marina locations and identified the strengths and weakness of each location. She referred to the constraints on the existing road network and stated that the report highlighted issues such as capacity and traffic flows. The report proposed that East Beach would be made 1 way – from Harbour Row to West Beach. Any traffic accessing Harbour Row from the Town centre would be directed along Pearse Square, O’Rahilly Street and Harbour Hill. Ms. Brick stated that the current pay parking system gave rise to difficulties in terms of enforcement. The system should be designed to encourage short term parking in the town centre to encourage shoppers. Longer stays could then be permitted farther from the town centre. She stated that visitors to towns would be more willing to pay extra for short term parking close to the main retail areas while workers who needed all day parking should be discouraged from taking up parking spaces in this core area. Cllr. Whitty asked if the report favoured any of the Marina locations. Mr. Ng stated that each of the locations was technically feasible. The Rushbrooke Dockyard had advantages in terms of access but was remote from the town centre. Whitepoint was restricted in terms of the level of ancillary development which would be required to make the marina economically viable, while the Connolly Street location was ideal in terms of proximity to the town centre but had difficulties in terms of access. Cllr .McCarthy asked if, given the fact that councillors had previously been assured that work on the Lower Harbour Sewerage Scheme would be in place by 2005 the consultants were happy that this was likely to commence as set out in the report. Mr. Ng stated that they had used the dates provided to them by the Cork County Council engineers. He stated that it was important that some of the proposals, namely the issue of off-street parking, were in place before this work started. Other issues would have to wait until after the construction work had completed. The Town Manager stated that there was a need for an overall vision for the town. This report provided this vision and allowed the Council to ensure that future development complied with the objectives of the study. She stated that some funding would be made available for reinstatement as part of the sewerage scheme project but that the Council would have to add to this fund in order to meet the proposals in the study. She highlighted the importance of the water to the town and the need to look to the water when developing the town. She stated that she was aware that Cork County Council was proposing a feasibility study for Spike Island. She intended sending a copy of the study to the County Council when it was adopted by the Town Council. Cllr. Doyle stated that the report seemed to suggest that the current pay parking system was inefficient. Ms. Brick stated that the current system did appear to give rise to problems in terms of enforcement. The ideal system would maximise the price of parking in the town centre and make it more cost effective to park in outlying areas. Cllr. Keating stated that the value of the report was dependent on progress on the issues raised in the report. The Council needed to show leadership and to start on some projects to give impetus to the report. Cllr. Crowley thanked the consultants for the extensive work in preparing the comprehensive report. The consultants then left. On the proposal of Cllr. Doyle, seconded by Cllr. Meade, the members agreed to place the draft report on public display. Members agreed that there needed to be as much public involvement in this study as possible. Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy proposed that a Press Release be prepared and issued by the Town Clerk, highlighting the fact that the study had been prepared and inviting submissions from the public. It was also agreed that the Town Clerk arrange for the report to be placed on the Council’s website and that copies of the report be sent on CD to the following organisations – Cobh & Harbour Chamber, Great Island Business Association, Port of Cork, Cobh Sailing Club, RohCon, Aidan Coffey, Fáilte Ireland, Cork County Council, Cork County VEC, Cork Dockyard, Cloyne Diocese, Cumnor Construction and the Gardaí. Copies would also be sent to all schools in the town. Members also agreed that the issue of incorporating the final study into the town Development Plan would commence as soon as the report was adopted, rather than waiting for the new Development Plan which was due to come into effect in 2011. This concluded the business of the meeting. __________________ CATHAOIRLEACH ________________________ TOWN CLERK ________________________ DATE
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