The later structures on the site, of historical, architectural, and industrial archaeological significance, reflect the evolution of industrial architectural design. 1.47 The structures are located on a large flat site, essentially a polder reclaimed from the river, the lower section to the south set below the tidal high- water level, rising as it meets the river’s edge where the original Fordson tractor plant and concrete quayside have been constructed at a higher level to avoid flooding and to protect the lower land running back towards Centre Park Road. 1.48 The present character of extensive low-rise structures set in an orthogonal arrangement in a flat industrial landscape will change as the area is redeveloped and the uses are intensified.
Issues
1.49 The challenge is not to resist change but to ensure that new, higher density redevelopment reflects the industrial and historical origins of the site and retains its significance as part of a new conception for what will be a new urban quarter by the banks of the River Lee. 1.50 It is important to emphasise that the retention of the historical, architectural, industrial archaeological and technical significance of the site does not imply the retention of the entire extent of the low-rise historic industrial structures: rather that the retention of their significance places these significant structures at the centre of a new instensified spatial and architectural conception for the development of the site, as exemplified in the recent planning application for the site which the City Council granted in 2012.
33
Cork City Draft Development Plan 2022-2028
Volume 3 I Part 1
Powered by FlippingBook