Call to put transport in place before new Galway town built

Environmental watchdog An Taisce has urged Galway City Council to learn from the mistakes of the past by putting public transport links in place before developing a ‘new town’ on the eastern outskirts of the city at Ardaun.

In a submission to the local authority ahead of the drafting of a Local Area Plan (LAP), An Taisce spokesman Derrick Hambleton said mistakes should be learned from the way in which suburbs such as Renmore, Knocknacarra, and Doughiska were developed without public facilities.

Otherwise, he said, the entire project was “questionable” if planners allow the construction of new houses without the vital elements of a successful new town.

He said that the development of Ardaun should be seen as a long-term objective and that the local authority’s main focus should be on the city’s more pressing transportation and housing needs.

According to An Taisce, there should be a tram or rail link with the city centre from the heart of the new town.

Mr Hambleton said there was an onus on the City Council to reduce “wasteful car dependence” in any plans for a future new town at Ardaun.

He suggested that the city authorities should examine the feasibility of a tram link with the city centre, given that cities such as Plauen, Germany (population 67,000); Avignon, France (90,000); and Nordhausen in Denmark (44,200) had developed tram lines.

“There are many other such small cities around Europe (we have counted 40) with populations similar to, or smaller than Galway that have invested in tram services,” he said.

“Here in Galway, we have a summer time population of 100,000, while a winter time boost in resident population is brought about by our student population.”

Mr Hambleton said the plan for the ‘new town’ should take account of revised national forecasts for growth, which had decreased substantially since the outset of the economic crisis.

He told the local authority that social housing, community facilities, shops, green parks, and local services such as water and waste water treatment, as well as high-capacity transport links to the city centre, should be included in the area plan.

“It is not envisaged by An Taisce that Ardaun should be developed now, but should be set out as a longer term objective, so as not to delay any transport and present day housing projects needed for the rest of the city,” he said.

Mr Hambleton said planners must learn from the mistakes of the past, after building new houses in city suburbs without putting vital infrastructural elements in place.

“Historically, over the past 40 to 50 years we have seen many new suburbs such as Renmore, New Mervue, Corrib Park, Westside, Knocknacarra, Castle Park and, more recently, Doughuisce all being built without any provision being made for public facilities, which only came many years later in some cases, if at all,” he added.

Last Friday was the closing date for submissions to Galway City Council regarding the Ardaun Local Action Plan. The plan will outline detailed planning policies for an area which is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years.