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Why EU opportunities matter to Cork?

Over the next generation, Cork is mandated to be Ireland’s fastest-growing urban centre, welcoming a targeted 50% increase in population by 2040 in becoming a city of international scale. That ambition extends beyond a simple numbers game. Achieving it depends on creating the conditions and the opportunities that will ensure high quality of life for existing citizens and will appeal to and attract those prospective newcomers – Irish and from overseas – on whom our future success so heavily depends, to make our city their home.

This will require us to deliver a vibrant, liveable, inclusive and healthy city based on concepts such as building and reinforcing neighbourhoods with a real sense of community and place and easy access to key services; prioritising public transport and active travel; maintaining a harmonious relationship with our natural environment; and making provision for resilience to the impacts of climate change. This transformation requires a concentrated outward-looking perspective with the National Planning Framework (NPF) emphasising that, in order to maximise its potential, there is a need to take account of European best practice.

Given its basis on the ‘transnational’ pooling of knowledge and hands-on experience among likeminded entities as to how common issues are handled in different contexts – coupled with a general future-focssed emphasis on sustainability and innovation – EU engagement can offer a viable pathway by which to broaden horizons and explore alternative solutions while raising standards of service delivery and enabling improved outcomes.

Examples wholly or partly arising from projects concluded over recent years include:

  • Using play as a vehicle for social inclusion, placemaking and healthy lifestyle policymaking – since rolled out as a best practice example to other Irish local authorities (Playful Paradigm).

 

  • A study to inform the future relocation of the Port of Cork, freeing up a vast future urban brownfield redevelopment site (ENSURE).
  • HEUGO – Ireland’s first trial public advisory facility on domestic energy retrofitting options and financing (INTENSIFY, UP-STAIRS).
  • Enhanced visitor experience and services at Elizabeth Fort (MMIAH).
  • Our Green & Blue Infrastructure Study (Urban Agenda – Partnership on Sustainable Land-use & Nature-based Solutions).
  • STAMP: a creative sector cluster and annual festival of creativity (Cult-CreaTE). 

EU projects also serve as a readymade platform by which to underline and enhance CCC’s local leadership role through outreach to and collaboration with other actors and organisations across the wider city – actively involving communities and stakeholders not just in project implementation but in inputting into the design process from the very beginning. Both in full partner and supportive background roles, we have turned to Europe as a means to deploy targeted initiatives to further the objectives of entities such as Cork Healthy Cities, Cork Learning City, Cork Smart Gateway, Energy Cork, the Transport Mobility Forum and Cork Food Policy Council. Beyond our project portfolio, this outlook is also reflected in Cork medalling at the 2023 iCapital – Rising Innovative City awards – a recognition of the synergies in place among our local ‘innovation ecosystem’ in coming together with a common societal purpose for the city. This represents an example of Cork’s heightened profile and positive reputation on the European stage through EU activity.

EU Affairs