Tramore Valley Park

Tramore Valley Park is a park on the southside of Cork in Ireland.[2] With an area of approximately 160 acres (65 ha), the park site is located on a landfill site which closed in 2009. While parts of the park opened in mid-2015 (including for BMX and parkrun events), and had been targeted to open more completely during 2016,[3] as of October 2018 the park had not been opened to the public on a broader scale or to larger events.[4][5][6] The park was ultimately opened in May 2019, and is managed by the Glen Resource Centre on behalf of Cork City Council.[7]

Tramore Valley Park
TypePublic Park
LocationCork, Ireland
Coordinates51°52′40″N 8°27′33″W
Area160 acres (65 ha)
StatusOpen (as of 2019)[1]

Development

The park was designed to have an area of 160 acres (65 ha), and was developed on the site of the city's former landfill, which ceased operation in 2009.[8][9]

While parts of the park opened in mid-2015 (including a BMX track),[10] and some events held in the park since September 2015 (including parkrun events),[11][12] by late 2017, not all parts of the park had opened.[13][14] While planned to open by mid-2016,[15] by late-2018, access and parking issues had delayed the opening of the park on a broader scale or to larger events.[4][5][16] Additional funding, to address these issues, was allocated in the Cork City Council budget for 2018,[6][17] with a view to "open Tramore Valley Park [..] seven days a week before [summer 2018]".[18] By late 2018 however it had been reported that at least a further €6m would be required "to provide full and safe access to the site",[19] and that the opening would be delayed until 2019.[4]

Following the opening of additional pedestrian entrances, and the addition of 400 car parking spaces, the park was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Cork in May 2019.[7] Further enhancements are proposed for the park "in the coming years".[7]

Location

The park boundaries are broadly triangular in shape, marked on the south-side of the site by the South Ring Road (N40), on the north-west by the South Link Road (N27), and on the north-east by housing estates off the South Douglas Road. Neighbouring suburbs include Douglas, Turner's Cross, Ballyphehane, Frankfield and Grange.[20] As Grange lies across a busy dual-carriageway, planning consideration had been given to the provision of a pedestrian access bridge.[9][21][22]

As of June 2019, there are two access points to the park, with vehicular access from the N27 South Link Road (opposite the Black Ash Park and Ride), and pedestrian access via a walkway in Willow Park, Douglas.[1]

Electricity generation

When completed, it was expected that almost €40m would have been spent sealing off the rainwater waste and harvesting any gas produced by the former landfill. It had been planned to use this gas to generate 0.5MW of electricity - enough to power approximately 400 to 500 local homes.[9][23]

In 2012, Cork City Council and Naturgy Energy announced the commencement of energy generation from reclaimed methane gas.[24]

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References
  1. "Tramore Valley Park". tramorevalleypark.glencentre.ie. Glen Resource Centre. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  2. Aoife Barry (9 September 2012). "Explainer: How do you turn a landfill into a park?". The Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. Brian Hayes Curtin (15 October 2015). "Tramore Valley Park is still on track to open in the first half of 2016, although health and safety concerns recently". Cork Independent.
  4. Kevin O'Neill (15 October 2018). "Tramore Valley Park won't open until May 2019". Evening Echo.
  5. Grainne McGuinness (30 August 2017). "Health and safety sees €40m Tramore Valley Park underused". Evening Echo.
  6. Kevin O'Neill (5 October 2017). "Funding proposal to open Tramore Valley Park in 2018". Evening Echo.
  7. Darragh Bermingham (22 May 2019). "Tramore Valley Park officially opened in Cork today". echolive.ie. The Echo. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  8. Alan Healy (18 August 2012). "Public get chance to explore landfill site park at fun day". Eveningecho.ie. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  9. Alan Healy (29 July 2014). "Cork's new Super-Park". Eveningecho.ie. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  10. Alan Healy (12 June 2015). "BMX Biking Gets New Cork Home". Evening Echo.
  11. Parkrun Ireland (28 August 2015). "Tramore Valley parkrun". Parkrun.ie. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  12. Alan Healy (8 August 2015). "Parkrun is added to Tramore Valley events". Evening Echo. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  13. Kieran McCarthy (7 December 2016). "Tramore Valley Park Update, December 2016". Kieranmccarthy.ie.
  14. Kevin O'Neill (29 July 2016). "Call to Fully Open 1.6 Acre Tramore Park". Evening Echo.
  15. Eoin English (2 December 2015). "New Cork city public park should open in summer". Irish Examiner.
  16. Eoin English (16 October 2015). "Council vows to address Tramore Valley park access problems". Irish Examiner.
  17. Eoin English (10 November 2017). "€11m for housing repairs in Cork City Council budget". Irish Examiner.
  18. Eoin English (11 November 2017). "180-acre former dump to open as public park after council ring-fences €50k". Irish Examiner.
  19. Eoin English (14 September 2018). "€6m bill to make Tramore Valley Park safe for public". Irish Examiner.
  20. Eddie Cassidy (22 August 2012). "Plans for extensive "Central Park for Cork" to go on display". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  21. Cork City Council (2 July 2012). Tramore Valley Park Masterplan (PDF) (Report). Corkcity.ie. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  22. Rob McNamara (6 November 2017). "Grange-Tramore Valley Park link a step closer". Evening Echo.
  23. Eoin English (11 December 2015). "Dump gas powers up to 500 homes in Cork city". Irish Examiner.
  24. Press Release (25 May 2012). "Cork City Council Commences Electricity Generation at Tramore Valley Park, Cork". naturgy.ie. Naturgy Energy. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
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