Jail threat over centre’s illegal site excavation

Date Published: 26-Jan-2012

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

The former owners of the Galway Gateway shopping centre on the Western Distributor Road have been warned they face jail and a fine of up to €12.7 million for carrying out major site excavation works without permission.

The site, which spans 52 acres in total and is also known as the Galway West District Centre, was seized by the National Asset Management Agency last weekend. However, the Council has vowed to continue pursuing the matter.

The excavation work on Phase 2 of the centre – alongside Dunnes Stores – was carried in 2007 and the site subsequently abandoned. At the moment, the site has filled with water and is fenced off.

The Galway City Tribune has learned that a warning letter was sent to the Moritz Group – which owned the centre and the land until its seizure – by the City Council, ordering that the land be restored to its original condition.

“The unauthorised excavation should be filled in immediately, the unauthorised security fencing removed and the lands reinstated to their condition prior to the unauthorised works being carried out,” the letter read.

It went on to explain that the Planning and Development Act provides for the City Council to recover any costs they incur in relation to enforcement proceedings – the deadline is the end of March.

“The Act further provides that a person who is guilty of an offence shall be liable on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €12.7 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or two both,” the Council warned, adding that a fine of up to €12,700 can be imposed for each day the offence continues after conviction.

John Kennedy, Planning Enforcement Officer with the Council, visited the site on foot of a complaint on Health & Safety grounds.

He reported: “My inspection found that the site was fenced off and a large hole had been excavated on the site covering most of the site area. This hole has filled with water so the depth cannot be measured.”

Tom Connell, the Council’s Director of Services for Planning told the Galway City Tribune: “We’ll continue pursuing the company.”

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