Crushing end to R&H Hall silos as rubble is recycled for Midleton rail line upgrade
Rubble clearance well underway on Kennedy Quay in preparation for the next phase of O'Callaghan Properties (OCP) €350m redevelopment of the South Docks. Picture: Chani Anderson
RUBBLE weighing more than the Brooklyn Bridge is being shifted off Kennedy Quay for use in a rail line upgrade in what’s described as one of the most significant construction recycling projects ever undertaken in Cork city.
Some 16,000 tonnes of crushed concrete, the remnants of the R&H silos, will be used to upgrade the Midleton to Cork rail line, a decision estimated to save the equivalent in CO2 emissions of what 85 long-haul flights could be expected to generate (c18,000 kg/CO2), or the electricity consumption of about 250 households a year.
The recycling of the material — created by the demolition a year ago of the landmark silos — required a rigorous and lengthy crushing, testing and certification process, involving both the Environmental Protection Agency and demolition experts the O’Kelly Brothers, on behalf of clients O’Callaghan Properties (OCP), whose South Docks portfolio includes the former silos’ site.
“We had a number of options to deal with the demolition material, the simplest of which was to transport it to landfill. Another option was to crush the concrete and seek to re-use it in a sustainable fashion, locally if possible,” said Brian O’Callaghan, OCP managing director.
Mr O’Callaghan said there was “a double sustainability gain” in that the material had been converted to a resource to be used in a public transport project. He added that all of the steel reinforcement and structural steel from the silos is also being recycled.
A spokesperson for Irish Rail said the recycled concrete — an aggregate of crushed concrete, bricks and mortar — will be used for capping in the track foundation.
In the meantime, it will be stored at “no cost” in a compound in Ballyadam, near Carrigtwohill, belonging to construction company BAM, Irish Rail said.
BAM was previously taken to task by Cork City Council for leaving a giant mound of rubble on Sullivan’s Quay in Cork city centre for more than a year, after demolishing the former tax offices in 2018. The site, where BAM had planning for a 193-bed hotel and six-storey office block, was finally cleared by mid-2020. The site remains vacant.
Back on Kennedy Quay, the removal of rubble, expected to be completed by hauliers Greenvalley in the next day or two, is ahead of the implementation of a game-changing €350m OCP plan for the South Docks, where the first phase includes a 130-bed rehabilitation hospital, 420,000 sq ft of offices; two apartment blocks of about 80 units each, one for the rental sector, the other for owner-occupiers.
The development includes replacement of the 90-year-old R&H buildings with a new sustainable “landmark” building (pic, left) that occupies the same footprint, and with a design that reflects the the silos’ industrial features.
The distinctive redbrick Oldums’ building will also be re-developed for mixed uses as part of the plan, including apartments and offices.
Development of the 4.1 acre waterfront site was due to start in the middle of last year, but the timeline was pushed out to facilitate negotiations with “third parties”.
OCP previously told the Irish Examiner that a “range of third parties” was involved “in ongoing and constructive discussions with OCP regarding the residential element as part of the normal project development process”. The most visible activity on the site to date has been the demolition of the 33m high silos.
OCP had also planned a €300m residential development at the 32-acre Gouldings’ fertiliser site, behind the quays, on Centre Park Road, but it was shot down in November by An The Bord Pleanála. The Government has already committed €353m to the docklands regeneration.
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