Tramore Valley Park

Tramore Valley Park is a park on the southside of Cork in Ireland.[1] 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,[2] the park was not completely opened until May 2019.[3] It is managed by the Glen Resource Centre on behalf of Cork City Council.[3]

Tramore Valley Park
Tramore Valley carpark, sports fields and BMX track
TypePublic Park
LocationCork, Ireland
Coordinates51°52′40″N 8°27′33″W
Area160 acres (65 ha)
StatusOpen

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.[4][5]

While parts of the park opened in mid-2015 (including a BMX track),[6] and some events held in the park since September 2015 (including parkrun events),[7][8] by late 2017, not all parts of the park had opened.[9][10] While planned to open by mid-2016,[11] by late-2018, access and parking issues had delayed the opening of the park on a broader scale or to larger events.[12][13][14] Additional funding, to address these issues, was allocated in the Cork City Council budget for 2018,[15][16] with a view to "open Tramore Valley Park [..] seven days a week before [summer 2018]".[17] 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",[18] and that the opening would be delayed until 2019.[12]

Following the opening of additional pedestrian entrances and the addition of 400 car parking spaces, the park was officially opened in May 2019, with further enhancements proposed "in the coming years".[3]

After 6-year break, a weekly parkrun event returned to the park in July 2022. [19]

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.[5][21][22]

As of 2021, there were 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.[23] A second pedestrian access point at Half Moon Lane was included in the park's plans but, as of 2020, had not opened to the public or local residents. The works required to facilitate this entrance commenced in mid-2021,[24][25] and it officially opened in 2022.[26]

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 was planned to use this gas to generate 0.5MW of electricity - enough to power approximately 400 to 500 local homes.[5][27] In 2012, Cork City Council and Naturgy Energy announced the commencement of energy generation from reclaimed methane gas.[28] At the time of its development, the methane-fired combined heat and power generating station, was supplying 1.8MW of electricity, amounting to approximately 4% of Cork City's domestic power demand.[29] This subsequently reduced to 1MW (2% of houses in Cork) and,[30] as of 2015, the small plant could reportedly supply electricity to the equivalent of "500 houses on an ongoing basis until 2021".[31] As of 2017, the site was expected to generate power "for another 3-5 years".[32]

References
  1. Barry, Aoife (9 September 2012). "Explainer: How do you turn a landfill into a park?". The Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  2. Hayes Curtin, Brian (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.
  3. Bermingham, Darragh (22 May 2019). "Tramore Valley Park officially opened in Cork today". echolive.ie. The Echo. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  4. Healy, Alan (18 August 2012). "Public get chance to explore landfill site park at fun day". Eveningecho.ie. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  5. Healy, Alan (29 July 2014). "Cork's new Super-Park". Eveningecho.ie. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  6. Healy, Alan (12 June 2015). "BMX Biking Gets New Cork Home". Evening Echo.
  7. "Tramore Valley parkrun". parkrun.ie. Parkrun Ireland. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  8. Healy, Alan (8 August 2015). "Parkrun is added to Tramore Valley events". Evening Echo. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  9. McCarthy, Kieran (7 December 2016). "Tramore Valley Park Update, December 2016". Kieranmccarthy.ie.
  10. O'Neill, Kevin (29 July 2016). "Call to Fully Open 1.6 Acre Tramore Park". Evening Echo.
  11. English, Eoin (2 December 2015). "New Cork city public park should open in summer". Irish Examiner.
  12. O'Neill, Kevin (15 October 2018). "Tramore Valley Park won't open until May 2019". Evening Echo.
  13. McGuinness, Grainne (30 August 2017). "Health and safety sees €40m Tramore Valley Park underused". Evening Echo.
  14. English, Eoin (16 October 2015). "Council vows to address Tramore Valley park access problems". Irish Examiner.
  15. O'Neill, Kevin (5 October 2017). "Funding proposal to open Tramore Valley Park in 2018". Evening Echo.
  16. English, Eoin (10 November 2017). "€11m for housing repairs in Cork City Council budget". Irish Examiner.
  17. English, Eoin (11 November 2017). "180-acre former dump to open as public park after council ring-fences €50k". Irish Examiner.
  18. English, Eoin (14 September 2018). "€6m bill to make Tramore Valley Park safe for public". Irish Examiner.
  19. Burke, Roisin (15 July 2022). "Rejoice! Cork city's third parkrun kicks off this weekend". echolive.ie. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  20. Cassidy, Eddie (22 August 2012). "Plans for extensive "Central Park for Cork" to go on display". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  21. Tramore Valley Park Masterplan (PDF). corkcity.ie (Report). Cork City Council. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  22. McNamara, Rob (6 November 2017). "Grange-Tramore Valley Park link a step closer". Evening Echo.
  23. "Tramore Valley Park". tramorevalleypark.glencentre.ie. Glen Resource Centre. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  24. Nolan, Amy. "Long-awaited works on park access won't start until next year". echolive.ie. The Echo. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  25. Nolan, Amy (9 July 2021). "Contractors on site: Half Moon Lane upgrade begins". echolive.ie. The Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  26. Griffin, Jasmin (7 June 2022). "Long Awaited Walking and Cycling entrance opened into Tramore Valley Park". corkbeo.ie.
  27. English, Eoin (11 December 2015). "Dump gas powers up to 500 homes in Cork city". Irish Examiner.
  28. "Cork City Council Commences Electricity Generation at Tramore Valley Park, Cork". naturgy.ie (Press release). Naturgy Energy. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  29. "Cork City Energy Agency - Projects - Kinsale Road Landfill Gas CHP". Cork City Council. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
  30. "History of Tramore Valley Park". glencentre.ie. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  31. "Cork City Council Commences Electricity Generation at Tramore Valley Park, Cork". £nvironment & Energy Management. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  32. O'Neill, Kevin (12 December 2017). "€500k of electricity sold by Tramore Valley". The Echo. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
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