Transport hub central to Galway plan

A €1 BILLION integrated port and transport hub is a central part of Galway’s new draft development plan, which accepted final…

A €1 BILLION integrated port and transport hub is a central part of Galway’s new draft development plan, which accepted final submissions yesterday.

Galway City Council had received about 300 submissions for the draft 2011-2017 city development plan by yesterday evening, with over 150 submissions lodged yesterday alone. Iarnród Éireann says that it is committed to its €800 million redevelopment of Galway’s Ceannt Station, transforming it into a larger train station than Dublin’s Connolly and a larger bus station than Busaras in the capital.

A new €200 million “harbour village” will also complement the major docks development plan drawn up by Galway Harbour Company, almost directly behind Ceannt Station. Both will provide “twin gateways” to the sea, according to Prof Loughlin Kealy, UCD Emeritus professor of architecture, who presented the joint project recently to city councillors.

The Labour Party and An Taisce’s Galway branch have already expressed concern about the large residential and retail element incorporated in the Ceannt Station redevelopment, which will include a “cultural building”.

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Labour Party president and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins, who made a submission on behalf of his party, has said that the plan must ensure that the Ceannt Station’s primary use is as defined as “an integrated regional transport hub with capacity for existing and future transport needs”.

Iarnród Éireann describes its new “Ceannt station urban quarter” as an “unselfconscious extension of the fabric of city centre spaces”.

The Galway harbour village aims to “establish a second place of identity for the city”, according to the joint project brief.

It will be “primarily a pedestrian enclave” with an “enhanced marina facility”, the brief says, and will include a “floating restaurant”, a “floating playground” and a “floating bridge”.

The new port also aims to provide berthage for cruise liners. The existing tidal harbour is due to host the finishing leg of the Volvo ocean yacht race in early July 2012.

The 2011-2017 plan aims to provide for rapid population growth, which has already contributed to serious traffic difficulties and a dearth of critical infrastructure such as schools.

It also aims to develop the Ardaun corridor on the city’s eastern flank.

Mr Higgins said in his detailed submission that the city’s character should be defined in terms of its unique location, in cultural terms and as the principal city of the Gaeltacht.

The draft plan also includes a second attempt to develop a pedestrianised “enhancement” scheme in one of the city’s most historic residential quarters, known as “the West”.

The West Residents’ Association has expressed fears in its submission about the impact of increased noise and late night drinking on the elderly population, and questions whether this is in line with the Barcelona Declaration on social inclusion.

Further details of the draft plan are can be found on www.galwaycity.ie