ALMOST one year to the day that Cork County Council announced a commitment, a €300,000 budget, and a timeframe for the restoration of the old Keelbeg Pier, a meeting was held in Union Hall to question the level of progress being made.
Social Democrat Cllr Isobel Towse said she has discussed the issue with the chairperson of the Union Hall and Glandore Harbour Users Association and was disappointed to hear there has been ‘no engagement between the community and the Council about this project’. The announcement was made in April 2024 after locals had repeatedly protested over plans to barricade a portion of the old pier due to health and safety concerns. These concerns were flagged by a firm of consultants, which recommended that access to the head of the pier be blocked off so locals couldn’t access it.
Last April, it was stated that an initial sum of €300,000, promised for the fourth-quarter of 2025, would be used to cover the cost of applying for foreshore licenses, statutory consents, design and site investigations. That was described as being ‘the first step in the process’ with phase two, planned for the second quarter of 2027, expected to cost €2.6m.
Cllr Towse said that it is ‘imperative that the project progresses as planned in order to avail of any funding announcements that require projects to be shovel-ready.’
