Gormley calls a halt to by-pass work

Date Published: 06-Feb-2009

THE Minister for the Environment has ordered an eleventh hour halt to the approved 15km stretch of the Galway City Outer Bypass – including a new bridge over the Corrib – to allow him assess the road’s impact on a Special Area of Conservation.

In a letter to County Manager Martina Moloney, the Department of the Environment ordered that “no steps be taken” until Minister John Gormley has given his agreement for the bypass to proceed.

There are now fears that the project will have to be referred to the European Commission because of environmental legislation, which has caused a major political row.

A slab of limestone pavement in the Menlo area – considered by the EU to be a ‘priority natural habitat’ – is expected to come under the scrutiny of the EU Commission’s environment section under the Habitats Directive.

The Department’s letter has been slammed by Galway West TD Noel Grealish, who…