Consultants begin assessment of Galway Airport

The owners of the Carnmore facility, Galway’s two local authorities, have appointed Future Analytics Limited to carry out a feasibility study on its future use.

The consultants were appointed before Christmas, and, following a meeting with Galway City Council and Galway County Council, are due to ‘hit the ground running’ compiling a report on its future usage.

It is understood nine tenders were received to carry out the report, and the winner was Future Analytics Limited, a Dublin based firm that specialises in spatial planning.

A budget of €18,000 has been set aside for the study, which is due back in the coming months.

A City Council spokesperson confirmed that the tender had been awarded. He said that no decision on the future of the 115 acres Galway Airport site will be made by the local authorities until the contents of the report is considered. He said elected members would be fully briefed once the report is published.

The airport will continue to be operated by Carnmore Aviation Ltd, a subsidiary of the Weston private airport near Dublin, until next summer when their 11-month lease on the property expires. Since Carnmore Aviation Ltd took over the Carnmore facility last June, it has continued to operate as an airport, accommodating private flights, the local flying club as well as facilitating the Irish Coast Guard and the Air Corps.

Ballinasloe-based civil engineering firm, Conneely Engineering, own the Weston facility – the company’s MD, Brian Conneely, is an Abbeyknockmoy native. Both councils paid a total of €1.1m for the airport site, taking on the project in the context of the site being a valuable public asset for the city and county.

At the time of the purchase, the city and county managers stressed that they were buying the site because of its location and potential economic and strategic importance to Galway and the west of Ireland.

“The purchase of the site was a strategic decision, given its size and location close to the M6 and on the fringe of Galway city. We would expect though that after receiving the report of the consultants early next year, a decision will be made shortly after on the medium to long term usage of the site,” said the City Council spokesman.

The joint owners of the facility, in their invitation to tender, said they wanted a feasibility study carried out in order to, “identify potential opportunities for this site within the context of the economic circumstances of the region”.

In its tender, the Councils said they acquired the site, “to ensure that the maximum economic potential of this large tract of land is realised”.

They pointed out that it is a strategic site, adjacent to the M6 motorway and future M17/M18 motorway, Galway City, Galway Bay, the railway network, IDA strategic sites at Oranmore and Athenry, the gas and electricity national distribution network and Parkmore Enterprise Park.