News
Planners sink basement restaurant extension in Salthill
Planners have refused to allow a new restaurant in Salthill to retain its basement dining and kitchen area, ruling it is as ‘substandard unauthorised development’.
Husband-and-wife team Patrick O’Malley and Lisa Creaven of the Fisherman Seafood Bar and Grill on the Promenade had sought permission to retain an existing food preparation and a dining area in the basement.
They told planners that the basement is the ‘key to the survival’ of the restaurant and they were unaware that planning was so restrictive on the unit on the Rockland Court development.
They pointed out they have invested heavily in the project – including a €40,000 air extraction system.
The couple have a 20-year lease on the premises, currently renting at around €40,000 per annum.
At the moment, 30 people are employed at the restaurant, and fish is sourced from local fishermen.
In their application, the couple said the main kitchen is limited in size, which required a basement kitchen for food preparation and some light cooking.
“The ancillary dining area at the basement level was fitted out in order to allow us manage noise levels during busy evening sittings.
“This area was also intended to allow us cater for private functions such as christenings, Holy Communions, birthdays etc. The basement dining area, however, turned out to be far more characteristic than we had envisioned and we were developing a lighter tapas style theme for this area.
“This is our first time to open or operate a restaurant and we had no idea that our planning was so restrictive and we were advised when taking on the lease that we had greater flexibility than we, in fact, had.
“It was not out intention to open this area without planning and it has caused us great concern as we have clearly invested very heavily in this area.
“The basement kitchen and dining room are key to the operation and survival of the restaurant and we ask the Council to grant us retention permission to continue this use,” the application reads.
An inspection by Executive Planner John Doody found there were “substantial unauthorised works”, including a constructed store for drinks, and the building’s communal bin store to the rear contained fridges and was being used as the cold food storage area.
“A timber structure/divider had been constructed and was being used for storing the bins within the communal open space area, there were also a number of fridges/coolers and other equipment located directly in the communal rear area,” Mr Doody said.
However, planners rejected the application, ruling it would impact on the residents who live in overhead apartments.
The business was also recently refused permission by An Bord Pleanála to extend its opening hours from 10pm to 11.30pm.
The City Council has ruled that the use of the basement as a kitchen and seating area represents an “unacceptable overdevelopment and intensification of uses resulting in the inadequate provision of communal amenity open space contravening the Development Plan standards and facilitating a substandard unauthorised development”.
“The development of the basement area has displaced the permitted cold food/goods and waste storage areas from basement level to the rear communal open space/structures.
“If retained, this would fragment and adversely impact upon the usability and functionality of an area specifically designated as a communal open space intended to be used for the enjoyment of the occupiers of the building and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the Council ruled.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
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.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
