30m-high student accommodation building in Galway is ‘too tall’

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The backers of a proposed 250-bed student accommodation complex on the Headford Road have been told that its 30-metre height is excessive and needs to be scaled back.

And the management company of the adjacent Galway Retail Park have expressed “grave concerns” that it would be an overdevelopment of the site and would exacerbate an already-congested parking situation in the retail park.

Last July, Cleverson Ltd – which is owned by Roscommon accountant Michael Feeley – applied for permission to develop the site of just over one acre which is currently a temporary carpark and vacant land opposite Lidl.

The plans include 254 student bed spaces, four retails units, and a gym with its own ground floor entrance. There was also proposed parking for 139 bicycles and 11 cars, as well as outdoor seating and a rooftop garden.

While the 7/8-storey blocks would front onto the Headford Road, the site was to “step down” into a 2/3-storey element beside the IMC Cinema.

A breakdown of the accommodation shows there will be 20 one-bed studio units; 15 two-bed twin studios; 6 four-bed units; 23 five-bed units; 5 six-bed units and 5 seven-bed units.

The City Council has now pointed out that the 30m building height “is considered to be excessive in terms of defining the future character and function of the area” and the scale and height of the building needs to be revised.

It was also noted that windows to the rear would overlook land with development potential, notably the Dyke Road Carpark, and the developers have been asked to comment on how this would not prejudice future development of these lands.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read it in full, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.