£30m Corrib river project gets go ahead

ONE of the largest and most contentious developments ever proposed for Galway city centre is set to proceed. Bord Pleanala has upheld the planning permission granted by Galway Corporation for the £30 million project.

The developer, O'Malley Construction, and the objectors were informed of the decision on Friday, but any conditions attached to the decision will not be known until today.

The project at Long Walk involves the building of a six storey hotel, 139 residential units, offices and a multi storey car park at the mouth of the river Corrib and near the city's docks. Galway Corporation granted permission subject to 33 conditions. It is understood that Bord Pleanala has attached additional conditions.

A spokesman for O'Malley Construction said it would issue a statement "as soon as we get details of the decision". Mr Aidan Berry, chairman of a local heritage group, Cairde na Gaillimhe said they were shocked by the decision.

Cairde na Gaillimhe was joined in the appeal by An Taisce, the Western Regional Fisheries Board (WRFB), the Green Party and a number of individuals, including residents from the Long Walk area.

Mr Berry said that Cairde na Gaillimhe was particularly taken aback because the development would have a detrimental impact on the Corrib.

He added, "Building density in the city is reaching worrying levels. The emphasis is on building apartments and no family homes.

Yet there was not enough public housing to cope with demand.

Allowing the development to proceed, he said, made them question the extent of influence in the democratic process of environmental groups such as An Taisce, and State bodies such as fishery boards.

The time had come, he said, for Galway's politicians to indicate clearly how they saw the future of the city, as it was growing rapidly in size and population. In their view, he added, services were not in place to match this.

An Taisce had claimed at the Bord Pleanala oral hearing in June that the development would not be in accordance with the policy or objectives of the city development plan due to its scale and character, and would not respect the existing streetscape at Long Walk, "one of the most significant images of the city".

Most concern about the development centred on its likely impact on water quality in the Corrib. It was also opposed on grounds of visual intrusion on a historic part of the city close to the Spanish Arch.

Objectors claimed that the sewage discharge arrangements from the development into the river were inadequate.

The developers, however, envisaged repairing a large sewer pipe at Old Dock, which they said would be an improvement.

They claimed that discharges at present were resulting in a sludge build up around the outfall area in the Corrib, and that their work would improve the nuisance factor and reduce the visual impact of the outfall.

The fisheries board felt the development should be rejected because of the quantity of sewage it would generate. Raw sewage would have to be pumped into the Corrib until a secondary sewage treatment plant was built for the city.

A marine biologist, on behalf of the developers, said the development would not have any significant negative impact on the nearby waterway. The turbulent and fast water flow, he said, would guarantee that there would be no significant oxygen depletion in the main body of the river.

The corporation admitted that the treatment plant as required under EU law would not be operational for at least five years and was the subject of a judicial review.