Massive planning application for Ferrybank’s €350m North Quays project cost €120,000 just to print

By COLIN BARTLEY

THE mammoth planning application for the €350 million North Quays regeneration project in Ferrybank cost €120,000 just to print out, KilkennyNow.ie has learned.

The blueprint for the design of the landmark development, which will be the biggest in the history of the South East, had to be delivered in a lorry because it was so large.

The North Quays redevelopment is a 1.2 million square foot mixed use development, including accommodation, office space and retail, on a 17-acre site on the border of Kilkenny and Waterford.

The development will see 3,500 jobs created during the construction phase, and a further 1,500 office jobs once it is completed.

A spokesperson for Falcon Real Estate Development Ireland this week said the project is on track and that timeline for the development is line with what was originally set out in March 2017.

The spokesperson told KilkennyNow.ie: “The councils of Waterford and Kilkenny have been brilliant in getting this plan to where it is now, and have been working very well together, making sure to help out as much as possible with the bumps on the road you expect to meet.”

And although members of the public have been frustrated by the lack of visible progress, the company said this is usually the case with developments of such scale.

“The planning is going in next month because everything is on track,” the spokesperson insisted. “The design of this project was always targeted at the end of June 2019, so we have pretty much managed to stick to that timeline.

“The application fills a lorry and cost €120,000 to print. It is probably the largest planning application Waterford Council has ever received.

“This is a testament to the amount of work that has been going on for the last two years. The design is something you have to do – it’s part of the process and people will see this now when we deliver it.

“People want to see the cranes, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Ninety per cent of the work is what you will never see being done and that’s the design stage. If you build a home you have to get architects to design it and that’s always the initial stage.”

“We will get our feedback by the end of September from the planning officers in the councils as they have to go through the designs and ensure it meets with their compliance and rigorous standards process.

“The Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) process is different from a normal planning application. This got planning permission a year ago, this is now the details of what’s proposed.”

The spokesperson said the SDZ seeks to get overall approval for a development plan first, and then grant permission for subsequent applications which are deemed consistent with the original plan. With that in place, the wheels are starting to visibly turn.

“So in September that’s when we could start on the site, things like the piling, and putting the contracts out to tender. That’s part of the timeline we have always had and we want that completed by November. And it’s from there then,” the spokesperson added.