Close to 2,000 new housing units are required between Fermoy and Mitchelstown in the coming years to achieve population targets set out by Cork County Council.

The Avondhu understands that Cork County Council is targeting population growth of 1,100 in Fermoy and 1,669 in Mitchelstown. This would increase the population of Fermoy to 7,589 and Mitchelstown to 5,346, while it is intended to increase the population of Mallow to 20,000 – an increase of 8,395 from 2011 numbers.

Across Fermoy Municipal Authority, a population growth of over 4,500 is being targeted, bringing the population to almost 47,000. The 2011 census recorded populations of 6,489 in Fermoy and 3,677 in Mitchelstown.

This was some of the information to come at the third in a series of breakfast briefing meetings hosted by Cork County Council at Springfort Hall, Mallow on Friday last.

Cork County Council see optimising employment opportunities in Fermoy and Mitchelstown, given the close proximity to the M8, as a main priority in the years to come, as is strengthening and rejuvenating the retail core area.

Enhancing and growing tourism infrastructure and accommodation in Fermoy is also seen as a priority by Cork County Council.

TOURISM GROWTH

In terms of tourism, almost 1.5 million tourists visited County Cork in 2015, with the majority (565,000) coming from mainland Europe. Over 500,000 UK tourists were recorded to have visited in 2015, with more than 260,000 visits from North America and 113,000 from other areas around the globe. These visitors spent €588 million in County Cork in 2015.

Almost one million domestic customers spent €171 million while visiting County Cork. By 2020, Cork County Council is aiming to grow visitor numbers to 2.8 million and visitor spend to €865 million. At present, 17.5 per cent of overseas visitors visit County Cork with the aim of increasing this to 25 per cent within five years.

In North Cork, Doneraile Park remains the most popular tourist attraction with 480,000 visits in 2016. This represents an 11 per cent rise from 2015 and a 21 per cent increase since 2014.

The Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trail attracted 70,000 visits in 2016, while it is estimated that 5,000 visits were made for salmon and trout fishing opportunities in North Cork.