Plans for a facility which could have provided improved sporting facilities for young people have been thrown out by An Bord Pleanála because of an objection from the National Roads Authority - a situation Fianna Fáil councillor Michael J Crowe has condemned as “a disgrace”.
Cllr Crowe was referring to the decision by the Bord to overturn Galway County Council’s approval for a new state-of-the-art facility for Galwegians Rugby Club on the Moycullen Road.
“Galwegians have been looking to relocate for more than two decades now and it is a disgrace that now, when they have secured a top-class site and everything is approved by the council, the project is thrown out because of the NRA’s say so,” he said.
NRA believed the proposed new development would increase traffic on what is already a busy road. However Cllr Crowe said traffic calming measures and road widening at the point of entry are two ways that safety could be improved should the facility be built.
“If the Galway County Council is satisfied that the plans did not in any way conflict with the County Development Plan, then it is hard to fathom why a compromise could not be met to satisfy objectors at the NRA,” he said.
“Large sites such as this are hard to come by in the surrounds of the city and I know that the club is understandably devastated by the setback. The development, if given the go-ahead, would provide much needed employment in the city also.”
Cllr Crowe has written to Fred Barry of the NRA requesting a meeting about the facility. He has also been in contact with Galwegians and has pledged to work with the club “until a resolution can be reached”.
“Galway’s development cannot continue to be stunted by objections that make little sense,” he said. “We are only hurting ourselves and preventing the city from realising its maximum potential in cases like this.”
