AWS Wins Approval for West Cork Cable Landing Station Despite Local Opposition

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has secured planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP), Ireland's planning appeals board, to construct a cable landing station (CLS) in Tullyneasky West, West Cork, despite a local couple's appeal against the project. The decision marks a significant milestone for the tech giant's first wholly-owned private transatlantic subsea cable system, known as Fastnet.

The approval follows Cork County Council's initial green light for the CLS in April, which was subsequently challenged by a couple who own a residential property and adjoining land near the proposed site. The couple raised concerns over the proximity of fuel tanks and electrical infrastructure to their home, as well as potential impacts from traffic, noise, and visual amenity.

The CLS will serve as the eastern landing point for the Fastnet cable, which will connect Cork, Ireland, to Maryland in the United States. Amazon MCS Ireland Ltd submitted the application in December 2025 for the site, located roughly five kilometers from Clonakilty. The development plan includes demolishing two existing structures and building the CLS facility with an ESB substation, a switch room, and external infrastructure such as fuel tanks and generators.

In rejecting the appeal, an ACP inspector's report concluded that fire and environmental risks had been adequately mitigated, the visual impact would be no greater than the existing metal workshop buildings on site, and traffic increases would be minor given that the facility would not be occupied full-time. The report also noted that the appellants' property sits approximately 125 meters from the development, with intervening fields providing a buffer, and is not the closest dwelling—a home about 82 meters away is nearer to the site.

The subsea cable, which will make landfall at Owenahincha beach in County Cork and run a further five kilometers inland to the CLS, is expected to become operational in 2028. It will offer more than 320Tbps of capacity and be laid approximately 1.5 meters below the seabed. The route will avoid the nearby Special Area of Conservation, though AWS still requires a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) to occupy part of the seabed.

AWS has also committed to establishing Community Benefit Funds in Maryland and County Cork, with contributions of around €150,000 earmarked for West Cork STEM education and a local community fund, according to the Irish Independent. The Fastnet project was officially announced in November 2025, following initial reports in January of that year.

The development underscores the growing strategic importance of subsea infrastructure for cloud providers seeking to expand global connectivity and resilience. Currently, Exa's Exa Express cable is the only other cable landing in County Cork, at the Cork Internet eXchange/CloudCIS facility. AWS has separately partnered with Vodafone on the Beaufort cable, which will link Ireland to the UK with landings at Kilmore Quay in Wexford, Bude in England, and Port Eynon in Wales—a project originally slated for 2024 but delayed.