Newcastle/Dangan residents are calling on local politicians to take action to speed up the allocation of funding for a community centre for the area. It has a population of more than 6,000 people and is equivalent in size to Ballinasloe or Westport.
They say they are disappointed with the delay in the process as they have been waiting six months for the expected announcement.
The initiative is being financed under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF ). The funding application was submitted by the Galway City Council last May.
Martin Quinn, the PRO of the Newcastle Combined Community Association (NCCA ) says the project is “shovel ready” and the residents are keen for work to begin on the centre.
The need for such a facility was first raised in the 1970s and, as the population of the area increased over the years, the residents of Newcastle, Dangan, Circular Road, and Bushypark ran various campaigns to highlight the issue.
Lack of social facility
The continued expansion of the area coupled with the lack of a social facility since the Westwood Hotel was demolished, highlights the importance of this project, outlines Mr Quinn, a former city councillor and city mayor.
“The Directors of NCCA CLG - a charity formed to represent Newcastle Combined Community Association – has been working with Galway City Council to develop a community centre in Newcastle for the past 25 years.
“The community of the greater Newcastle/Dangan area of Galway city, representing a population of 6,000+ residents, have been waiting patiently for the past six months for the expected announcement of funding for their long-awaited community centre,” he says.
A “suitable and central” site was obtained from the Galway City Council and planning permission was obtained for the project.
“Galway City Council in January 2020 unanimously supported a motion to apply for grant aid under URDF. Over the years, the local community of Newcastle/Dangan generously contributed funding to NCCA CLG to enable the completion of detailed design work and preliminary site preparation. The total local contribution to this project to date is close to €200,000.
“The current position is that the development - which includes a community centre, children’s playground, all-weather pitch, and sensory garden - will be ‘shovel ready’ to go to tender once the URDF grant aid is received.”
Size of a town
Mr Quinn says Newcastle is equivalent in size to Ballinasloe or Westport and has been “deprived” of any community facilities.
“The original centre where the community gathered was taken over by NUIG a decade ago. The local hotel, which was the meeting place since then, was demolished and developed into a student accommodation centre. There are no community facilities or meeting place in the Newcastle/Dangan area – not even a hotel, bar, or restaurant. The nearest meeting place requires travel to the east side of the city or to Salthill. The facilities proposed and included on the URDF application outlined how the centre will provide for the regeneration and rejuvenation of this deprived area of the city.”
He describes the continued delay in the announcement of URDF funding as “disappointing”. “Constructive discussions took place with the CEO [of] Galway City Council who advised us that URDF was the appropriate funding mechanism for our centre.” The minister for housing echoed this view.
“The defining criteria by Government for URDF funding is for projects that ‘support more compact and sustainable development through regeneration and rejuvenation’ and the primary focus is ‘on supporting integrated urban developments that enhance the urban area in question so that it becomes an attractive and vibrant place in which people choose to live and work, as well as to invest’. The Newcastle Community Centre project and outdoor facilities fits all those criteria.”
He says the Newcastle Combined Community Association has been awaiting the funding announcement every month since last September.
“The explanation received in December from the minister’s office was that the delay was due to the complexity of many of the URDF projects. Representations were made by the NCCA CLG directors to Galway West Oireachtas members requesting that funding for our less complex community projects to be decoupled from complex local authority projects. This would allow for the early announcement of funding for our community centre.”
Mr Quinn points out that the directors and committee of the Newcastle/Dangan community association have made their contribution to this “much needed” development.
“We now request our Oireachtas members to make the representations to the Minister to grant funding of our URDF application. This will allow construction to commence on our community project that will rejuvenate and regenerate the Newcastle/Dangan area of Galway city, a city centre location the size of a mid-size town without even the most basic community facilities.
“On 3rd February 2021, the Minister for Public Expenditure brought an Appropriation Bill motion before the Dail requesting approval to carry-over €709 million in unspent capital projects from 2020. This included €214 million for the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage with URDF being identified as a key component.
“The continual delay in approving worthwhile and ‘shovel ready’ projects. like the Newcastle community facilities, will make it more difficult to avoid a large carry-over of capital projects into 2022. The early funding announcements for community projects under URDF would demonstrate the Government’s empathy with community organisations who we feel will play a key role as we recover from Covid-19.”
