7 February 2023
By Tony Forde
tony@TheCork.ie
From today, Bishop Lucey Park will close to the public for two weeks in order to facilitate advance works on its redevelopment.
A statement from “City Hall says that the redeveloped park will be a key element of the regeneration of the Grand Parade Quarter. Bishop Lucey Park will be completely renewed based on an award-winning architectural design that opens up the park to the wider city centre.”
The redeveloped park will include:
Improved access to the historic city wall;
A new pavilion and plaza for housing events;
Improved access and seating for all;
A new tower to mark the eastern entrance.
The advance works will include the removal of a limited number of trees and pruning of others to offer more sunlight to people enjoying the park and to support the works.
A competition for the redevelopment of the Park was run by the Royal Institute of Architects in conjunction with Cork City Council in 2020. Designers were asked to consider a number of objectives, including the design of a park with “something to offer all ages”, that “opens up” the park to the city, the park’s role as a central “soft space” in the city centre and the medieval nature of the site by “emphasising the existing town walls within the site”. The competition was won by Belfast-based Hall McKnight Architects.
The redevelopment of Bishop Lucey Park is a key part of Cork City Council’s City Centre Strategy and integral to improving the quality of amenities in a city that is projected to grow to 300,000 in the next 20 years with an increasing number of young families expected to live in the city centre.
