Galway City Council will carry out consultation with local groups, residents, and stakeholders, about plans to carry out extensive, and ambitious, refurbishments at Leisureland and Salthill Park.
At Monday's online meeting, Ruairi Lehmann, tourism officer for the Galway City Council, delivered a presentation about how the area could be reimagined. Combining Leisureland and Salthill Park would provide a 12 acre site and councillors were asked to the support the executive's wish to explore the proposal further.
Public spaces in Moscow, Copenhagen, and Chicago were all shown illustrating the tourist attractions delivered in those cities.
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In the update on Tourism Infrastructure Projects April 2021 the document stated: "With this redevelopment we want to create an experience that will match the ambition that was set by these prime public spaces with a mix of uses that will serve the local community and act as a major catalyst for the tourism and hospitality industry in Galway.
"To match this ambition and develop Leisureland to its full potential we must look at Salthill in its totality. For this project we would like to investigate the possibilities to combine Leisureland with the neighbouring Salthill Park. This creates over 12 acres and enormous possibilities."
Multi layered space
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It is envisaged that a multi layered space can integrate the current public parking on the promenade and at both Salthill and Toft car parks returning these to public realm space.
Above a new mobility hub the aim is to increase green space, adding a number of amenities, a major visitor attraction and retaining the leisure activities currently available.
The Galway City Council wants to produce a proposal that can drive economic impact, enhance the community offering, improve seasonality, develop a distinct differentiator for Salthill, and improve connectivity.
Stakeholders
Amongst the stakeholders the city council intends to meet are the local Salthill community, the wider general public, Failte Ireland, the Galway Tourism Taskforce, event managers, attraction operators, and current Leisureland clients.
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When the public engagements are completed the council will return to elected members before developing concepts into a design proposal, examine commerciality of designs, seek partners, appoint design team, secure planning and financing to begin a phased development.
In a Facebook post on Monday evening, Social Democrats Galway City East councillor, Owen Hanley [pictured above], wrote: "Councillors gave their support in principle and now the council will go to in-depth public consultation with residents and community groups...This could be a major game changer for Galway."
