29 April 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork County Council has granted planning permission for the development of the Carrigtwohill School Campus, according to Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, David Stanton.
David Stanton TD
Cork County Council has confirmed that, subject to certain conditions, planning permission has been granted for the development of three new school facilities at a greenfield site in Carrigtwohill. The project includes the construction of new and permanent accommodation for two primary schools, Scoil Mhuire Naofa and Scoil Chliodhna and one post-primary school, Carrigtwohill Community College.
The new development will consist of three schools with modern state of the art educational facilities. It will include two new 24 classroom primary schools for Scoil Mhuire Naofa and Scoil Chliodhna and one post-primary facility for Carrigtwohill Community College which will allow the school to expand to up to 1000 students. The development also forms part of a larger school building and modernisation programme being carried out by the Government at national level which receives capital funding by the Department of Education and Skills.
Following confirmation of the approval, David Stanton said: “I am very pleased that the long-awaited planning permission has been approved by Cork County Council, subject to certain conditions. The development of this campus is essential in assuring that Carrigtwohill’s educational needs are met both now and in the future. There is a considerable need for school accommodation in Carrigtwohill given that Scoil Chliodhna and Carrigtwohill Community College are currently operating from temporary premises and Scoil Mhuire Naofa is reliant upon temporary classrooms as its permanent accommodation is no longer large enough to meet demand.
“I acknowledge that students, parents and teachers alike have been anxious to see this project progress and have understandably been concerned at some of the delays experienced during the process. However, the decision by Cork County Council to grant planning permission is an important step in the development of the campus and one which I am certain will be welcomed by the local community. Despite the current restrictions, I would hope that the process would run smoothly from here and I would expect that the Department of Education and Skills will begin to progress the tendering and construction process in due course”, concluded Minister Stanton.
