Planning board's decisions in Galway 'baffling', says Mayor
Vivienne Clarke
The Mayor of Galway, Clodagh Higgins has called for a meeting between senior Government representatives and city officials following a decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse a number of housing developments.
Ms Higgins told Newstalk Breakfast that the developments had been rejected by An Bord Pleanála for being too car-dependent, but she feels conditional planning could have been granted.
The Mayor’s comments come following a warning from the city council’s chief executive that the local authority will not be able to meet its social housing needs “for the foreseeable future”.
“The reasons given for the refusal in the development at Keeraun was that they considered it to be piecemeal, with inadequate provision of social and physical infrastructure, and that such a development would be excessively car-dependent.
“They also said the substandard condition of the road at Ballymoneen was also a factor. In the Headford Road case, again, the development was considered to be too car-dependent.
"This is a development that's a 20-minute walk from the city centre - so decisions by An Bord Pleanála are simply baffling at the moment," Ms Higgins said.
“I can't understand why planning couldn't be granted with conditions attached, such as upgrading the footpaths, roads and so forth. We all appreciate that the road at Keeraun needed to be upgraded, and there were active plans in place that the upgrade would happen in tandem with housing developments.
“An Bord Pleanála didn't give Galway City Council an opportunity to explain that, they just flatly refused the application. When you pair it all back we have an urgent requirement for housing.
“The council and private developers are willing to develop sites to meet our housing needs. Yet we have an independent agency of the State essentially working against our collective objective.
“They could have helped us find a way forward with conditional planning, which would have benefited the community two-fold,” Ms Higgins added.
