Decision on €500m North Quays project in Ferrybank imminent as developers finalise plans
A decision on the €500 million development of Ferrybank’s North Quays is expected in the coming weeks after the project’s backer provided the local authority with further details about their ambitious plan.
In February of this year planning officers at Waterford City and County Council went back to Falcon Real Estate Development, the company behind the proposed half-a-billion euro project on the North Quays on the Kilkenny-Waterford border requesting more details.
Last week Falcon provided the council with a comprehensive response to all their request for clarification in regard to 29 different aspects of the development.
These aspects included among others, clarification around the positioning of open spaces on the site; the orientation of some of the retail premises; clarification on fire safety and the fire management systems; clarification about LED displays; and clarification on the finishes to the developments externals, cladding and windows.
The council also requested further details regarding the mechanical and electrical report; further information regarding the services to the development; details regarding parking; further details on the flood risk assessment report and the environmental impact report; and more detailed information regarding the construction management plan.
In the comprehensive response, the developer provided more detailed information on each of the points outlined by the council in their request. Falcon have now been instructed to re-instate their planning notice on the site.
The initial plans lodged by Falcon Real Estate just before Christmas last, if approved, would see the North Quays one of the single largest private sector mixed-use commercial and residential development in the south east.
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.
In February, the Government announced €12.6m in funding for infrastructure for the North Quays, including the Dock Road and Abbey Road access works and the Sustainable Transport Bridge for use by public transport, cyclists and pedestrians across the River Suir linking it to the city centre.
It is expected that a decision on the development, in light of the new information given to the local authority, will be made by the middle of July.
