Ghost estates will not come back to haunt city planners

Date Published: 21-Oct-2010

BY FRANK FARRAGHER

GALWAY city’s ongoing popularity as a desirable place to live – even in bad times – has ‘saved its bacon’ in terms of escaping the worst effects of the ‘ghost estate’ syndrome.

Figures released this week indicated that nationally over 23,000 completed dwellings lay vacant by the end of September – but only 260 of those were in Galway city.

Twenty four estates in the city were surveyed by the Dept of Environment between May and September with only 260 of the completed units remaining vacant.

Over 1,000 of the completed dwellings were occupied, but no construction at all had begun on 201 units – a further 133, nearing completion, had no building activity going on.

According to the Mayor of Galway, Cllr. Michael Crowe, the problem of ‘ghost estates’ in the city was largely confined to two developments in the western side of the urban area and one in the east.

“Thankfully the city has escaped remarkably unscathed in relation to what has happened in other parts of the country.

“Proper and prudent decisions were taken in relation to zoning and planning and I think that it is fair to say that they have paid off for us,” said Mayor Crowe.

City Council Director of Services, Tom Connell, said that while the City Council was actively monitoring and pursuing any issues in relation to unfinished estates it was ‘fair to say’ that Galway had escaped a lot more lightly than other parts of the country.

“The City Council at all levels took a careful and responsible approach as regards planning and projected housing demand. Thankfully we have escaped the brunt of the ‘ghost estate’ syndrome,” said Tom Connell.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.