The former Corrib Great Southern Hotel on the Dublin Road, long considered one of the city’s worst eyesores, will be demolished in December.
Demolition works will also be carried on the former Connacht laundry site in St Helen’s Street and the former Oasis nightclub in Salthill, as well as on the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel.
In the past year Galway City Council issued Statutory Orders to the registered owners of three sites using their powers under the Derelict Sites 1990. The orders require the demolition of the buildings to ground level and stipulate that works must be completed within a specified time frame.
.
In a statement City Hall said, “These works will be the culmination of significant effort by the Environment Department of Galway City Council to reduce dereliction across the city and will be welcomed by local area residents, elected representatives and the wider community.”
The announcement has been welcomed by Social Democrats Galway City East councillor, Owen Hanley. “After calls for a long time, I am relieved to hear this news,” he said. "Dereliction has a toll on the communities around it. There's an economic toll, a social toll, a community toll.”
'We should begin to look towards the future'
.
The council recently agreed a demolition plan with the owners of the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel and demolition is expected to begin in early December. It is anticipated that work will take approximately four months.
Currently there are no further agreed plans for the site beyond the demolition and clearance of the site. Any future development of the site will be subject to the planning process.
However Cllr Hanley [pictured above] said, “nobody wants to see an empty site” remain that way. “Now that real progress has been made we should begin to look towards the future,” he said “That is a crucial site for the Eastside and demolition is only the beginning to unlocking its potential."
