CITY TRIBUNE
Market traders frustrated at being ‘rebuffed’ by Galway City Council
It’s a firm favourite with local shoppers of a Saturday . . . and it’s a major attraction for visitors to the city, listed in all guide books and online reviews of ‘things to do’ when visiting the City of the Tribes.
However, traders at Galway’s famous market feel their concerns about the damaged surface at Churchyard Street are being ignored by management at City Hall.
Galway Market traders said they were ‘shocked’ to learn last week that an upgrade of the surface area of the market is not included in any phase of the resurfacing works on Shop Street, which is ongoing.
This is despite previous assurances from City Council management that Churchyard Street would be repaired as part of the overall Shop Street pedestrianisation project.
Traders estimated the total costs of urgent remedial works would be just €10,000. Some works are ongoing at the Lombard Street section of the market surface, as part of job to put in new electronic bollards, but traders have been told the Council doesn’t have the money to resurface the entire area.
Some 70 traders have stalls there every Saturday, and the Sunday market is becoming more attractive to stallholders with about 40 operating on Sundays. It is also a big attraction during Galway Arts Festival, and at Christmas time.
This year, St Nicholas’ Church celebrates its 700th year, which should attract further footfall to the area; and the market should also be busier with tourists coming here for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture.
Dirk Flake, an organic vegetable grower based in Kinvara, and spokesperson for the Traders Committee, said the Council has confirmed that there are no plans to include the area in resurfacing works.
He said traders are “frustrated” at being “rebuffed” by senior Council management, and the “neglect” of the area. “There is no commitment, not even a promise,” he said.
“As traders, we are all in agreement that senior officials in Galway City Council need to take action now to make urgent repairs to prevent serious injury to market patrons and traders,” Mr Flake told the Galway City Tribune.
He said traders had been lobbying for the repairs for over two years – but to no avail. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly (Ind), he said, secured a meeting with officials, and contractors, during which it became apparent that Churchyard Street is not included in the present phase of resurfacing, and there are no plans to include the area in works scheduled for 2022.
Some gullies have been cleaned, which has resulted in less flooding, and a small are of uneven surface has been levelled. And he said that Councillor Collette Connolly (Ind) offered money left over from the Local Improvement Scheme to fix some ‘black spots’, but there was still no commitment from the Council “to do the maintenance works necessary to bridge the period until a major resurface can be planned for the market area”.
“We are looking for some kind of solution to address loose and broken paving which present a real hazard to patrons and pedestrians, many of whom are older with mobility issues,” said Mr Flake.
“Flooding in times of heavy rain also presents a real problem and it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt as they try and navigate their way through the market. This has been really evident over this winter as the weather has been particularly challenging and it makes conditions in the market very difficult for traders and patrons. We have been trying for some time to meet with Council officials to have a constructive discussion on issues relating to the market, but our repeated requests have been ignored. This is all the more frustrating because our committee has had a very productive relationship with the Council in the past.
“There seems to be a general lack of awareness or appreciation among officials for the importance of the market to the city. Sometimes it can feel like we are invisible to the Council. While we have had great help from a few individual Councillors, we are asking all Councillors and Council officials to come and experience conditions in the market so they can see first-hand where the issues are.
“We have ongoing issues with proper street cleaning, access to electricity and proper loading and unloading facilities. Galway has been designated the City of Culture for 2020 and these works will only enhance the experience of the market and its contribution to the unique culture of Galway City,” he added.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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