A new planning application for a café restaurant/takeaway within the Blackwater Shopping Centre in Fermoy has been issued to Cork County Council.
A decision on the application, which is for a change of use from an existing retail/commercial unit to a ground floor café restaurant/takeaway in Unit 6 of the shopping centre, is expected in mid-September.
The application has been made by Tommy Kelly and Barry McCourt, through DFOD Consultants in Cork. Unit 6, a 132 square metre space, is located between the recently opened Cork Meat Company and the recently closed Hacketts Bookmakers. It is understood that the business will employ three to four people if the application is successful.
Similarly, the decision of an application by Perks Funfair to open an amusement arcade in Unit 1 of the Blackwater Shopping Centre is expected to be made later this month. In response to a request for further information from Cork County Council, Perks has indicated that the amusement arcade (to be known as The Liberty Arcade) will be open from 10am to midnight from Monday to Sunday.
As for council concerns over the lack of parking spaces within the shopping centre, Perks say they intend to introduce car parking controls, limiting the stay of any vehicle within the centre to three hours between 8am and 7pm unless a permit is displayed. Clamping will be carried out if the maximum length of stay is exceeded within the designated hours.
Over 70 residents living in the Beechfield Estate near the shopping centre have already signalled their opposition to such a development by sending a petition to Cork County Council. Concerns by residents include noise pollution, as well as the possibility that the arcade may attract anti-social behaviour within the largely residential corner of the town.
