The Galway City Council is still waiting for all the relevant documention to be sent to its legal section before money in relation to the compulsory purchase order for Menlough Castle will be paid out.
Director of services, Tom Connell was responding to a query by Deputy Mayor Frank Fahy at a special meeting of the city council last Monday when he acknowledged that it “may be correct” that no money has yet been paid for the compulsory purchase order.
Following a presentation of the two year progress report on the Galway City Development Plan, Cllr Fahy highlighted the situation with Menlough Castle, describing it as “very long term”. “It was in 2000 that the compulsory purchase order was made but nobody has been paid a red cent for their loss.” He added that the restoration of the castle was meant “for the community”.
Mr Connell told Cllr Fahy that once the relevant documentation is received by the legal section the money “will be paid out”.
The progress report states that plans to “facilitate the restoration of Menlough Castle for public usage, excluding private residential use, to allow for new uses, in particular cultural/recreation uses, compatible with the restoration of the building to best conservation practise where it can be demonstrated that there will be no adverse impacts on the integrity of Natura 2000 sites” are long term objectives of the Galway City Development plan. It is also planned for the council to look into the potential for the development of a park on lands adjacent to Menlough Castle.
Earlier last year there were calls for a full-scale inquiry to be carried out into the cost of the restoration project and the fact that five families have been waiting for compensation since being issued with compulsory purchase orders in 2000.
