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Public / civic · Co. Cork

Former G.W Biggs & Co. Site, Bridge Street and Market Lane, Bantry, Co. Cork, P75 PP96

Granted 19 Aug 2026

Archived record

This application has left our current planning lists, so this page is no longer updated. We last saw it in the council's register on 18 Sep 2026. The details below are as they were then. The council's register has the current status.

What and where

Demolition of a single storey retail warehouse building and the…

The proposed development will consist of the demolition of a single storey retail warehouse building and the construction of a music and events centre to comprise: • A multi-purpose auditorium (1105.5 m²) incorporating a 271-seat performance hall and associated ancillary rooms and spaces including reception and ticket office, foyer, changing rooms, shower and toilets, technical support rooms, green room, offices and stores; • A linked 3-storey education hub (691 m²) incorporating a ground floor café / bar (105 m²), and teaching and rehearsal rooms, a multi-purpose performance space, and other ancillary rooms on upper floors; • A separate 2-storey plant building to rear incorporating ESB substation, switch room and external stairs; • Building and site signage to include 3no. flagpoles at site entrance onto Bridge Street; • Landscaping, boundary treatment, and on site public realm works; • 2no. universal access parking spaces to the front, 2no. staff parking spaces to the rear. • 40no. cycle parking spaces, including 10no. covered cycle spaces in a bike shelter to the rear; • Modifications and improvements to existing vehicular entrance onto Bridge Street and new service and emergency gate to rear onto Market Lane; • All other associated plant, telecommunications infrastructure, utility connections, public lighting, drainage and other site development works.

Location
Bantry, Co. Cork Map
Planning reference
26/0979
Applicant
West Cork Music Clg
Agent
Coakley O'Neill Town Planning Ltd

Key facts

Floor area
1,902 m²
Indicative value
€1m–3mPlanningBrief estimate
Project type
Public / civic
Received
17 Apr 2026
Granted
19 Aug 2026

Timeline

  1. Application received
  2. Granted

Outlook

What happens next

Permission was granted on 19 Aug 2026 and no site start has been filed yet. The next step is a commencement notice, filed before building work begins; the start date and who will build it are not known yet.

Work packages named so far

  • Roads and site development worksNamed in the application description
  • Services and drainageNamed in the application description

An outlook from the planning record, not a tender or a confirmed start date.

Documents and evidence

Check the record

  • Council planning fileThe application file 26/0979 on planning.agileapplications.ie: drawings, reports and the decision.Open the council's file

Reviewed build intelligence

What the documents establish

Government document review

The 19 August notification is a decision to grant, not a final grant. The 105 m² cafe/bar is included in the 691 m² education hub; it is not an additional building area.

2 official documents inspected · Checked 2026-09-07 · Official file index

Council decision covers auditorium, education hub and separate plant building

Decision to grant on 19 August; final grant not established

What the evidence says
The August notification describes a 1,105.5 m² auditorium incorporating a 271-seat hall and ancillary rooms, a 691 m² education hub incorporating the 105 m² cafe/bar, and a separate two-storey plant building. The notice says a later final grant is required before development is authorised.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Performance-space, teaching and building-services packages need their distinct uses and included subareas retained in the project scope.

What is not established
Final grant, a reconciled all-building floor-area schedule, contractor appointment and commencement are not established.

Inspect the evidence

Notification of decision to grant and conditions · p.1
Auditorium 1105.5 m²; education hub 691 m² incorporating cafe/bar 105 m²; later grant required · Issued 2026-08-19 · Order and signed notification 19 August; application amended 23 July · Checked 2026-09-07

Auditorium 1105.5 m²; education hub 691 m² incorporating cafe/bar 105 m²; later grant required

Planning roof design combines metal slopes, lanterns and screened plant

Original WCMC-P-104 revision A; not a construction-issued roof or equipment schedule

What the evidence says
Revision A of the roof plan shows metal-clad sloping roofs matching the facade, metal-clad lanterns, rooflights and metal screens concealing plant. It also identifies the separate external plant room. These are the April planning design details, subject to the July amendments and subsequent decision requirements.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Roofing, facade and mechanical teams need to coordinate the lanterns, daylight openings and plant screening at the detailed-design stage.

What is not established
Final metal specification, structural support, plant selection, equipment capacity and any later roof-detail approval are not established.

Inspect the evidence

Proposed roof plan · p.1
WCMC-P-104 revision A: keys 3, 6, 8, 10 and 19 · Issued 2026-04-10 · WCMC-P-104 revision A, issued for planning 10 April; received 17 April · Checked 2026-09-07

WCMC-P-104 revision A: keys 3, 6, 8, 10 and 19

Notification of decision to grant and conditions · p.1
Application received 17 April as amended 23 July · Issued 2026-08-19 · Order and signed notification 19 August; application amended 23 July · Checked 2026-09-07

Application received 17 April as amended 23 July

Acoustic confirmation and operating-noise testing are required

Acoustic requirements in a council decision; compliance not demonstrated

What the evidence says
Conditions 11 to 13 require acoustic-professional confirmation of the submitted noise assessment recommendations before development, a construction noise and vibration plan, and a noise survey within three months of operations. At noise-sensitive locations the notification sets 55 dBA daytime, 50 dBA evening and 45 dBA night limits, with the document specifying different averaging measures.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Acoustic consultants and performance-space and mechanical designers need the envelope, plant and operating regime coordinated against the stated limits.

What is not established
Final acoustic report, compliance approval, installed sound insulation and operating-noise survey are not established.

Inspect the evidence

Notification of decision to grant and conditions · p.6
Conditions 11 to 13: acoustic report, operating limits and monitoring · Issued 2026-08-19 · Order and signed notification 19 August; application amended 23 July · Checked 2026-09-07

Conditions 11 to 13: acoustic report, operating limits and monitoring

Invasive-species clearance is a pre-construction dependency

Enabling requirement recorded in the August decision

What the evidence says
Condition 10 requires an agreed final invasive-species management plan, specialist treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed and giant rhubarb, and specialist certification that the site is free from contamination before construction. The condition also addresses licensing for removal of these species or affected soil.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Groundworks, demolition and ecology teams should establish the agreed treatment and soil-handling sequence before mobilisation.

What is not established
Approved final management plan, licensing, specialist certification and completed clearance are not established.

Inspect the evidence

Notification of decision to grant and conditions · p.6
Condition 10: invasive-species plan and certification before construction · Issued 2026-08-19 · Order and signed notification 19 August; application amended 23 July · Checked 2026-09-07

Condition 10: invasive-species plan and certification before construction
Remaining document questions
  • Has final permission issued, and have acoustic, invasive-species and detailed roof/plant requirements been agreed?

The declared pages of these government-published PDFs were visually inspected. Other catalogue files, later compliance, procurement and installed specifications were not established. Historical weekly membership is retained separately from these document dates.

How we know this

From the Cork County Council planning register, as last seen on 18 Sep 2026. The council's own file is the official record. Facts from the planning documents were read from the documents in that file.

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