Overtime cost highlighted in argument against ‘outdoor living’ in Galway

The cost of Galway City Council staff overtime during last year’s street closures to facilitate outdoor dining has been highlighted to support an argument that the local authority did not follow procedure in this year’s ‘outdoor living’ plan.

Angela Casey of Munster Avenue has submitted an appeal to An Bórd Pleanála arguing that the Council’s temporary closure of six roads (Small Crane, Raven Terrace, Dominick Street Upper, William Street West, Forster Street and Woodquay) to facilitate outdoor dining this summer was a “material change of use, is development and is not exempted development”.

Ms Casey, in the submission, said the street closures should have been carried out as a Part 8 Development under the Planning Act or under the Event Licence provisions of the Planning and Development Act. She has argued that planning permission was required to close the roads again in 2022.

City Hall, in its submission to An Bórd Pleanála, has insisted that the street closures daily from 6pm-1pm do not constitute development and planning permission was not required.

It said it complied with the relevant procedures before closing the streets.

Ms Casey, in her appeal, argued that the road closures was development and that Part 8 planning ‘may apply’ to it because she said that more than €126,000 must have been spent on it.

“At least five if not six of the roads the subject of the road closure notices were closed on a similar basis in 2021. Each night, from 6pm to 11pm, a minimum of three employees sat in a Council van in the vicinity of William Street West for the duration of the closure. A fork-lift truck was parked locally in Munster Avenue to move the concrete bollards that were used to close the roads. Similar separate resources would have been required at each of the Forster Street and Woodquay closures.

“The estimated costs must include the overhead which is applied to staff wages, which I understand is in excess of 30%. Revenue expected to be generated, and grants, must be excluded from the estimated costs to give a true reflection of the estimated costs,” she argued in her submission.

She also asked An Bórd Pleanála to determine whether the street closures were an ‘event’, which had an audience of more than 5,000 people.

But the City Council said that outdoor dining on public streets which are closed for temporary periods do not constitute an ‘event’ under the planning act.

It also argued that the closure of roads does not constitute development under the planning act.

The Council also said that the use of public roads and pedestrianised areas for on-street dining/drinking “is encouraged by Government”.

The Council said it complied with all that was required of it, under the law, when it closed the streets for a temporary period this summer, and it concluded that An Bórd Pleanála “should reject Ms Casey’s appeal”.

Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath assured city councillors at last week’s meeting that the local authority had followed proper procedure.

The Board is due to rule before or in September. Street closures continue while the adjudication is ongoing. Hospitality businesses in the areas affected have reported that the street closures have been a success again in 2022 in terms of increasing footfall.