Plans to be unveiled for Galway City’s ‘cultural quarter’

A planning application to develop a prime city centre site for social housing, a cultural space and commercial café will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Galway City Council plans to build 11 apartments as part of the development at the corner of Merchant’s Road and New Dock Street.

The site – located in what the Council describes as the ‘cultural quarter’ – is just down from the Pálás arthouse cinema, and opposite the House Hotel.

The total commercial area of the site owned by the local authority, according to the draft plans, is 4,133 sq ft.

This will include a café, “cultural open space and cultural space”, as well as storage and toilets.

The housing element of the plan includes 11 homes, in a mixture of one- and two-bedroom units. The residential aspect of the development will be 9,763 sq ft.

The total estimated costs of the project, according to the City Council, is about €4.6 million, which factors in about €3.3 million for the residential element.

It will be a ‘Part 8’ planning application – are approved by elected members of the Council.

Councillor Níall McNelis (Labour) said the plans are welcome.

“I think it’s very important that we use this space, and the fact that they’re proposing to put social housing in there is brilliant,” said the former mayor.

“There are a lot of people who need one- and two-bed social houses, and the fact that we are going to have a creative cultural space is also most welcome. I’ve asked that we would look at keeping one of the housing units for artists-in-residence accommodation, so that an artist could live there while working,” said Cllr McNelis.

He said that it was most welcome too that the development was being designed in-house at City Hall by architect Emmet Humphreys.

An indicative timeframe given to councillors predicts that if all the planning hurdles are jumped, construction could commence in May next year, with a completion.