Council orders redesign of planned €130m Doughiska development

Galway City Tribune – Galway City Council has expressed a series of concerns over traffic and road safety, parking, noise, and overlooking, in the proposed €130 million hotel, office, apartment and leisure centre development in Doughiska.

The Fire Authority also notified the project’s backers that it does not comply with current fire safety regulations.

The local authority has told the developers to redesign extensive tranches of the commercial and residential elements of the scheme, giving them six months to make a further submission.

Questions were also raised over whether the residential element is proposed to be part of a ‘Build-to-Rent’ long-term rental housing scheme.

The ‘Evolution Gateway Galway’ scheme – located on a seven-acre site alongside Sraith Fhada off the Coolagh roundabout will include 100,000 square feet of office space, 143 apartments and a 122-bedroom hotel with adjoining suites providing another 24 bed spaces.

It will also feature a gym, six-lane 25-metre swimming pool, tennis court, astro turf pitches, creche and a café, with a mix of under-croft and multi-storey parking.

However, city planners have raised a series of concerns about the two planning applications which were lodged by Evolution Asset Holdings, which is headed by Michael Pender, formerly of the Kenny Group.

The Council pointed out that that the applicant failed to submit any assessment with regard to the implications for the additional traffic that will be created, and have sought a Traffic and Transport Assessment, as well as a Road Safety Audit.

The local authority noted that in the entire development, there was only one vehicle access point, beside an apartment block, and given the volume of traffic entering the site during the day and night, it posed a serious concern with regard to residential amenity.

They also noted: “The proposed development is car-focused and lacks sufficient pedestrian and cycle priority” and asked that the plans be revised to give pedestrians priority.”
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