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Coláiste an Chraoibhín have been given the green light for a major extension to the Fermoy school.

Cork County Council has granted planning permission for a €5.5m extension to Cólaiste an Chraoibhín that will almost double the space at the Fermoy school.

"Everyone here at Cólaiste an Chraoibhín is delighted," Principal Christy Healy said in response to the news this week. There were no objections to the plan. "I'm glad. We've always had a good relationship with the community and it has paid off," the principal told the Avondhu.

He had called a public meeting about the planned development to advise people of the project. That public consultation and the extensive pre-planning work engaged in by Cork County Council's senior executive engineer Brendan O'Gorman, which also took traffic considerations into account, is credited with allowing the smooth processing of the planning application.

The principal was also happy that only 16 fairly standard conditions were attached to planning permission and won't therefore be unduly onerous or expensive to comply with. One of the conditions is that 20 car parking spaces be provided at the Liam MacGerailt side of their playing pitches.

The new 3,800 sq metre three-storey extension will replace seven prefab-type classrooms. The ground floor will house a gymnasium and hall with changing rooms, a fitness suite, two science labs and a music and drama room.

The second floor will have classrooms for art, construction studies and home economics, a large assembly area, a special needs unit with multi-sensory unit, a pastoral care room and offices. General classrooms, a computer room, language labs and a staff room will take up the third floor

In addition to planning, the school has satisfied the criteria for a disabled access certificate and is now in the process of clearing one final hurdle - securing a fire certificate.  They expect that to issue this week.

After that the project can go to tender. That process could take up to a year. Construction is expected to take between 14 and 18 months, bringing them up to 2016 at the earliest.

Local councillor Noel McCarthy and councillor and Cork Education and Training Board member Tadhg O'Donovan issued a joint statement welcoming the news as a very positive development for education in Fermoy. "It's an obvious milestone in the promotion of vocational education in the existing and ever-extending catchment area of Cólaiste an Chraoibhín."

They extended thanks to Ted Owens, CEO of Cork ETB and Martin Hall (principal officer) 'for their co-operation in ensuring every step possible was taken to make the planning application a viable proposition'. They commended the principal for the 'open, transparent and proactive approach adopted by him in the pre-planning process'. They also acknowledged the role played by Cork County Council and the relevant planners and they singled out the senior engineer Brendan O'Gorman, whom they said was so active, particularly in the pe-planning stages.

"Our hopes at this time are that there will now be no objections to An Bord Pleanala by any third party as this has been the position to date with the planning application," the statement went on.

As a consequence of the new development, Cólaiste will no longer be able to offer the range of PLC courses that have been a popular and successful part of its educational services over the years.

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