'A great day for Loughrea' as contracts signed for new €3.4m fire station

Construction on Loughrea's new €3.4 million fire station is expected to begin within the next two weeks following the official signing of contracts - a significant milestone that was broadly welcomed at today's (Monday July 27) meeting of Galway County Council.

The new station, backed by €3.4 million in Government funding, will replace Loughrea's existing fire station, which has served the community for “more than 60 or 70 years,” according to Fine Gael Cllr Michael 'Moegie' Maher.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Maher described the contract signing as "a great day for Loughrea".

"It is a great investment in Loughrea and in our town," he said.

He spoke of having encountered initial opposition to the project when it was first proposed.

"A lot were against us at the time," he said, as he thanked council officials for their support.

The new facility will be built at St Lawrence's Fields on the Athenry Road and will comprise a modern, single-storey three-bay fire station.

The development will also include a training tower, training yard, storage areas and associated site works.

At the time of the funding announcement in April this year, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney TD (Ind) said that this is “about making sure our fire services have facilities that are fit for purpose and ready to meet modern demands”.

“This is a strong vote of confidence in Galway’s fire and emergency services and in the need to invest properly in the infrastructure that supports them,” he said.

Construction is expected to take around 15 months to complete.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.