Submission from the Southern Regional Assembly (Submission No 400)
Issues / Recommendations / Observations
Chief Executive’s Response & Recommendation
Cork Open Space, Recreation and Greenbelt Strategy in alignment with Cork MASP Policy Objective 17.
connections to the metropolitan GBI network shall also be investigated and planned for.
1.11.
Retail Economy
The plan is upfront on the significant challenges faced by this sector in a rapidly changing market. On-line shopping and lower footfalls due to Covid -19 has contributed to increased vacancy. To counteract these impacts, the focus is on retail experience as part of the draw to city and town centres, with an emphasis on the role of leisure, culture, food and beverage uses attracting footfall. Importantly for compliance with Cork MASP Objective 16 Retail, the Cork Metropolitan Area Joint Retail Strategy 2021 is currently being prepared on behalf of Cork City Council and Cork County Council and it is envisaged that upon completion, its findings will be incorporated into the adopted Cork City Development Plan. The SRA supports the strong focus to renew the retail sector with a large emphasis on the retail experience and detailed objectives supporting the retail hierarchy, improving and diversifying city, town, district, neighbourhood and local shopping streets to be vibrant. The SRA welcomes specific Objective 7.26 (a) to support and implement the Cork Metropolitan Area Joint Retail Study and Strategy 2021 upon completion and the retail hierarchy in defining the role of retail centres, in preparing plans and in assessing development proposals for retail development. Recommendation 10: Cork Metropolitan Area Joint Retail Study The SRA supports the completion of the Cork Metropolitan Area Joint Retail Study 2021 and its implementation, which aligns with RSES RPO 55 Retail and Cork MASP Objective 16.
Cork City Council continues to be committed to working jointly with Cork County Council to progress the preparation of a Joint Retail Strategy for the Cork Metropolitan Area, which corresponds to the Cork MASP area. While work on the Strategy progressed to an advanced stage, the final strategy could not be agreed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Draft Plan includes retail policy guidance as required under planning legislation. As outlined in Section 7.82 Retail Hierarchy of the Draft Plan, a retail hierarchy has been included based on the retail hierarchy set out in the Cork MASP, Cork MASP Policy Objective 16 and the Draft Plan’s Settlement Strategy. As stated in Section 7.92, core retail areas have been defined for the City Centre, District Centres and Large Urban Town Centres, and have been identified in zoning maps in Volume 2 Mapped Objectives of the Draft Plan. Recommendation: No substantive change, but amendments to the text to reflect the fact that the Joint Retail Strategy was not agreed- these are set out in the response to the OPR Recommendation 7 Retail .
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