Cork County Council has written to West Cork Distillers seeking Further Information so the Planning Authority can properly assess planning application 21905 for maturation warehouses in Tullig.

In a letter dated Thursday 24 February, the council highlights many concerns, including:

• Concerns regarding the scale of the development.
• Concerns about potential impacts on the visual and residential amenities of the area.
• Lack of clarity regarding future needs of West Cork Distillers and future use of Marsh Road site.
• Concerns regarding potential impacts on ecology.
• Lack of clarity regarding construction management, lighting, noise impacts and firefighting provision.
• Requirement for the carrying out of an Archaeological Impact Assessment.
• Requirement for a Traffic and Transport Assessment.
• Concerns regarding the lack of required lay-bys required to accommodate suggested HGV movements from the site to the national road.

The detailed documentation requested includes a revised site layout reducing the scale of the proposed development by at least 50%, a revised site selection report to include zoned lands within the city and county of Cork, production and storage projections for the Marsh Road site covering the next 10 years, a Traffic and Transport Assessment for the site, a breeding bird and bat surveys and reports, a Habitat and Species Protection & Management Plan, Construction Management Plan, Archaeological Impact Assessment and more.

You can read the full scope of the County Council's requirements in the original Further Information request letter below.

What happens next?

West Cork Distillers now has 6 months to respond with all requested documentation (with a further extension of up to 3 months available at the discretion of the Planning Authority if requested). If the company does not submit everything required within the specified timeframe, the planning authority will declare the application as withdrawn.

Should West Cork Distillers comply with the Further Information request in full (including any clarification sought by the Planning Authority after receiving the documentation) the Planning Authority then has 4 weeks to make a decision.