Cork City Council opened the Part 8 Planning public consultation for the Mary Street, Douglas Street, and White Street Public Realm Enhancement Scheme on Thursday, 12 June 2025.
This scheme marks a major investment in the future of Cork City, aiming to revitalise one of its most historic and culturally vibrant quarters by restoring its distinctive ‘village within the city’ character. It forms part of a broader strategy to promote sustainable urban living—focusing on high-quality public spaces, improved accessibility, and a more inviting environment for residents, workers, and visitors alike in the Douglas Street area and its surroundings.
The area is currently characterised by its narrow streets, high traffic volumes, constrained pedestrian environment and limited public spaces. These conditions have long posed challenges for residents, businesses, and visitors. The proposed upgrades aim to address these issues by implementing a range of measures, including pedestrian zones, one-way traffic systems, rationalisation of parking, enhanced public spaces and high-quality landscaping etc.
The scheme also includes the creation of a new neighbourhood pocket park at the eastern end of Douglas Street, providing much needed open space for the community. It is designed to create opportunities for the community to congregate and enjoy their streets with the introduction of urban greening, street furniture and playful landscapes.
The project has been a community-led design with Cork City Council running multiple consultations with those who live, work and visit the area. The project team undertook several rounds of public consultation and used the feedback provided by members of the public and business owners to develop the proposed scheme. This culminated in two public consultation open days held at Nano Nagle Place, in September 2024, to share and get feedback on the evolving design.
Two further public consultation open days during this consultation period will be held in Nano Nagle Place, where members of the public can view the plans, meet members of the design team and make their submissions. Residents, local businesses, and other stakeholders are warmly invited to attend the upcoming open days, share their views on the proposals, and contribute valuable feedback—an essential step toward shaping the best possible future for their neighbourhood.
These events will take place on:
- Friday 20 June 2025 from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
&
- Friday 4 July 2025 from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Details of the scheme, the drawings and associated images will be available to view on the Cork City Council Consult platform on https://consult.corkcity.ie from Thursday 12 June 2025. Observations and comments will be accepted up until Monday 25 August 2025. It is intended to bring the scheme before the Elected Members of Cork City Council later this year for their consent with a view to starting construction in late 2026 or early 2027