Decision on €500m Ferrybank development ‘will be finalised by end of Spring’

Planning officers have had to go back to the company behind the proposed €500 million development at Waterford North Quays in Ferrybank requesting further information to clarify some details regarding the plans.

Although this has delayed a decision on whether to grant planning permission or not, the council still expects to have a final decision on the development sometime this spring.

A spokesperson for the council today said: “As would be expected with a proposal on this scale, there are a number of points of detail that still need to be worked out and the Council recently issued a request for “Further Information” to the applicant to allow these matters to be fully clarified and addressed as part of the overall application process.

“Once this additional information is submitted, the Council will immediately begin assessing same with a view to issuing a decision on the planning application as soon as possible thereafter.”

The plans by Falcon Real Estate Development Ireland Limited lodged just before Christmas 2019 which would see the North Quays become the single largest private sector mixed-use commercial and residential development Waterford has ever seen.

The proposed development would cover a 7.8-hectare redundant city centre site and would include a 220-bedroom hotel; a mixed-use commercial building with multiple retail units; a food court; an eight-screen cinema; a visitor centre; a seven-storey office block; 298 apartments in five separate blocks; an energy building; and a riverside promenade.

It is intended to develop a public park and public plaza as part of the plans and a link bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, connecting the existing and future ‘Greenways’  and the creation of the proposed Sustainable Transport Bridge which will link with the South Quays at the Clock Tower.

“For some time now,” the spokesperson added, “the North Quays has been acknowledged as a key strategic site for economic and social development at national and regional level, and the site was designated as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) by the Government in 2016, with the Council adopting a special SDZ Planning Scheme for the area in 2018.

“The renewal of the North Quays is essential to the sustainable expansion of the city core, and will be served by an integrated multi-modal transport hub.  This will be centred around a relocated railway station and new bridges, greatly improving access to the city centre.

“The North Quays has the potential to become a high-profile destination for living, working, shopping and entertainment that will boost Waterford’s profile and provide a new urban district to support integration of the Waterford Metropolitan Area both north and south of the river,” the spokesperson concluded.

Just last week the announcement was made that €12.6m funding has been confirmed for infrastructure for the North Quays, including the Dock Road and Abbey Road access works and the Sustainable Transport Bridge.