Cork 2023: The beating heart of the region

“Cork city is in the centre of a vibrant region, county and region, so it has a beating heart,” said Ann Doherty, chief executive of Cork City Council

“It has purpose, as any city does, but it also has that accessibility to a wider and very lush coastal and county area with vibrant towns and experiences, so all of that coalesces together to give that overall experience.”

As the second-largest city in Ireland and the second-largest English-speaking city in the EU, Cork City brings great ambition and potential. It has a diversified and strong economic base, comprehensive third-level education facilities, natural tourism and social life settings, and a modern airport, port facilities and rail services.

With the population expected to hit 335,000 by 2040, there’s a significant focus on how the city can become a place that serves the populous, not just in services but accessibility, living standards and ethos.

Making it a liveable city means investment in housing and residential areas, which the council is committed to.

“For general housing delivery, the number of planning applications is up in Cork which shows investor confidence,” said Fearghal Reidy.,director of strategic and economic development for Cork City Council. “There’s a good pipeline of both apartments and suburban housing, so we can provide that full spectrum of housing across the city.”

Reidy added that for social and affordable housing from 2022 to 2026, its target amounts to almost 4,000 homes and a further 1,700 for social homes throughout the county of Cork which it’s on track to deliver with its partners in HAP (Housing Assistance Payments).

Add to that planning applications for areas like the docklands, and there are encouraging signs, as well as the work on transport in partnership with the National Transport Association (NTA). Both with BusConnect, which has finished its second consultation period, and Kent Station, seeing its platforms widened and extended to accommodate more passengers and more frequent commuter services.

And then there’s active travel, which is making journeys in physically active ways like walking or cycling, in which the council has invested tens of millions alongside the NTA and the Department of Transport.

A lot is happening, but as both Doherty and Reidy mention, the important part is keeping the momentum for these projects and having the courage to evolve and match the changing needs of the city’s people.

“Now we crave something a little softer and closer to nature,” mentioned Doherty. “Still, we want it to be permeable and maintain the social piece as well.”

Reidy mentioned one example of creative thinking at the heart of the city centre on Cornmarket Street, where there’s a rooftop farm supplying the local restaurants and hotels with herbs and vegetables. It’s a small project but something that can be built upon and inspire other projects.

As well as pedestrianising 17 streets in the city, other innovations include parklets, which convert on-street parking spaces into public open spaces. Seen as a cost-effective way to create more vibrant streets for residents and passersby to sit, relax, and interact, there are now 15 locations across the city and done in partnership with businesses.

It’s a team effort with help from the city council, the NTA, and business and community groups.

Much of this ties into Cork City’s ESG efforts, where it’s one of 100 climate-neutral and smart cities selected by the EU. The scheme aims to make these cities climate-neutral by 2030 and have them act as experimentation and innovation hubs. It’s not just about considering the environment and living spaces, it filters into all elements of life.

“What we’re trying to do is accelerate all of this so we can be investor ready,” said Reidy. “We’re very conscious of the ESG credentials and measurements that businesses and supply chains are facing, and we’re aware it’s not just about the bottom line but about stakeholders, talent, communities, and residents.

“So by participating in this mission, we want to learn best practices in Europe and apply them to Cork ultimately to do what’s right for the city and support investment and create opportunities more sustainably.”

There’s also the city’s cultural and social aspect, which is reflected by the many musical, sporting and cultural events happening throughout the year. To take the June bank holiday as an example, it had the Ocean to City event, the Cork City Marathon, and live at the marquee happening to name a few, where footfall in the city centre was 10 per cent higher this June bank holiday compared to the same period in 2019.

Not to mention significant festivals like Fest of the Fork, which aims to turn Cork city into a cuisine capital, building off a pilot scheme and the term momentum appears again.

Much of this wouldn’t be possible without the support of various partners and state agencies like NTA, Fáilte Ireland, the IDA, and Enterprise Ireland, to name a few. Alongside the talent and expertise, a key draw of Cork is its people and how they collaborate healthily and productively.

“If you come to engage and do business in Cork, you will get all of the right people around you very quickly because of that collaboration,” said Doherty. “We challenge each other, and we get the best out of each other and when it is needed, people will pull out all the stops to make things happen.”

Doherty mentioned that Cork’s size means it’s agile and flexible to try new things. As the second city in Ireland, it gets the leeway to try out different things and be honest about what works.

“Cork is a city small enough to be nimble enough to collaborate. Second cities have a different attitude to capital cities, not being better or worse. They’re outward looking because they have to be.

“The ethos of continuous improvement and learning all the time is important, sometimes it’s ok to try things, and even if they’re not right, it’s really important to try.”