Original plans for the controversial N6 Galway ringroad have been resubmitted to An Bord Pleanala.
Last week a Galway County Council road development application and separate motorway scheme application for the N6 were published by the national planning authority under new headings and file numbers. The resurrected proposal is to build a new road in a northern arc from Coolagh to the Coast Road past Barna. This would include two tunnels and a new bridge over the Corrib.
The €600m project had appeared to be finally sunk in February when transport minister Eamon Ryan said that the National Transport Authority and Galway’s two local authorities must come up with better transport strategies that meet climate targets. Galway’s two local authorities have insisted the road is part of a much wider transport strategy, and supporters assert it is vital infrastructure for the west of Ireland, not a measure to alleviate city congestion.
An Bord Pleanala (ABP ) gave the N6 the green light in November 2021, but in October 2022 that original grant of planning permission was quashed after Judicial Review proceedings found ABP had not taken the government’s four-day-old 2021 Climate Action Plan into account when it initially approved plans for the new road.
Last week, the original plans drawn up in 2018 were lodged to ABP but under new file numbers. A spokeswoman for the Board said that following High Court orders quashing the Board’s approval of the ringroad plans, these cases “have been remitted back to an Bord Pleanála for determination. A decision will be made in due course”.
Remission is a relatively new legal mechanism introduced by Fianna Fáil housing minister Darragh O’Brien - also in October 2022.
The mechanism was part of the 2022 Planning and Development , Maritime and Valuation Amendment Act.
These new rules introduce two new elements to the planning process in Ireland. Firstly, they insist that all planning process appeals must be exhausted before a judicial challenge may be taken. Secondly, individuals who find their planning applications quashed by a judge may apply to the High Court to have their applications returned to the planning process with appropriate alterations directed by a judge. This is designed to avoid the necessity of beginning a planning application again from scratch.
The application for judicial review of the N6 ringroad planning process was taken by lobby group Friends of the Irish Environment. Its spokesman, Tony Lowes, said he could not think of any other major infrastructure project which had been remitted back to ABP after being thoroughly rejected by the courts.
“The clock essentially goes back to 2021 when this planning process first began,” he said. “Our concern is that this new process is opaque. We don’t know what specific directions the High Court has given as there appears to be two worlds when it comes to getting courtroom transcripts: those that are given them, and those of us who are constantly asking.”
“The climate issues surrounding this road have only intensified since its initial proposal. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to envision An Bord Pleanala granting approval to any proposals that would significantly escalate Ireland’s emissions, as this one is poised to do.”
Plans for the N6 Galway City Ring Road were originally lodged in 2018 after an earlier attempt to build an outer bypass of the city was also refused on environmental grounds. [email protected]
