Councillor Alan Curran of the Social Democrats is calling for the redevelopment of council-owned Hunters Park in Rusheen into a community ecological park, linking the five existing woods, beaches, amenity, and community areas in the west of the city into an accessible nature trail.
Cllr Curran stated; “The old Hunters Caravan Park House, bought by Galway City Council over 20 years ago, is among the best situated pieces of land in Galway and crucially is at the centre of Cappagh Park, Bearna Woods, Rusheen Woods, and Silverstrand Beach. However, it is currently an office for the parks department with a depot yard.
“We could transform this into a real ecological park - putting in a café, playground, educational centre, and allotments. It is mad to think that we have this potential within the control of Galway City Council, that we Galwegians have paid good money for the site, and it is being used for cutting Christmas trees in January and then storing sand, salt, and grit the rest of the year.
“We have beautiful nature around Rusheen Bay with incredible parks, woodlands, lagoons, grassland, and beaches, but we make it hard for people to fully explore them together. Cappagh Park, Bearna Woods, Rusheen Woods, Rusheen Park, Silverstrand Beach, and plans for a future greenway are all located right beside each other and linking them together through the Hunters site could really help Galway families to create lovely days out in nature.
“There has been talk about creating a new masterplan for this area in the City Development Plan, but there is no urgency or action on it and a lot is within the control of council. It is within a special area of conservation, but we can find solutions that are sensitive to the ecological needs of this entire area. These plans lack political drive and effort by council to build up support for a real community use for this area. This is one major project I will prioritize and push if elected to Galway City West next month.”
