Religious order asks Council to rezone 32 acres of its lands

Date Published: 10-May-2010

By Dara Bradley

The order of the Brothers of Charity has asked city planners to rezone more than 32 acres of lands at two city locations from institutional to residential.

The Brothers of Charity Services Galway, which describes itself as a not-for-profit charity whose proceeds go back into the communities they serve, want lands at its Woodlands Centre in Renmore and John Paul Centre in Ballybane rezoned for commercial and residential development.

The Brothers, who provide a range of services for people with learning disabilities, say the rezoning bid is part of the changing nature of the services they provide where in the last decade the emphasis has changed to a “movement of clients out of the campus and into community settings in the city and county”.

They want the lands rezoned, developed and sold so that the money can be used to provide more dispersed and “integrated” homes for their clients at various locations rather than in centralised locations at these sites.

In two separate submissions to the Galway City Draft Development Plan 2011-2017, the Brothers also say another reason for wanting the zonings changed is to “underpin funding for the Brothers and their clients who rely heavily on public and private donations in addition to grants and HSE payment allocations”.

Read more in this week’s Connacht Sentinel