Claregalway houses get green light
An additional 62 residential units are on the way for Claregalway – despite any progress on a proposed bypass for the traffic-choked village.
However, Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Cllr David Collins believes that infrastructure for the village must be high on the agenda – and he would continue to push for it.
The Turloughmore councillor told the Connacht Tribune that the village was so congested that it was imperative that a bypass be part of future development plans – particularly when new developments are being approved.
Even prior to the latest planning green light, some local residents were of the view that no further development should happen until a new bypass was in place.
But Galway County Council granted planning permission for the nine-acre site to be transformed into a location for 62 dwellings which will also include two- and three-bedroom apartments, terraced houses and several duplex buildings.
Cllr Collins said that there was also a further 44 affordable housing development coming into the village and this exacerbated the need for a new bypass.
Tuam Cllr Donagh Killilea endorsed the need for a bypass as the village is along the main route to Galway, although he said the ultimate solution would be to create a second bridge over the Corrib.
“At the moment we have traffic trying to access the Tuam road out of Galway from eight different directions and that is not sustainable,” he said.
“As it stands, it his harder to get out of Galway than it is to get into it. This has to change but it is up to the traffic people in the city council to come and have a look at this in consultation with Galway County Council,” added Cllr Killilea.
The Lakeview Residents Association also made their views known on the planning application for the construction of 62 dwellings in the village.
“With the opening of a new discount supermarket (Lidl) and the possibility of more than five dozen new residential units being provided, residents are now fearing that the current traffic congestion will become an even greater nightmare,” they said.
The site of the proposed development is a mixed brownfield and greenfield site located to the south of the centre of Claregalway village in the townlands of Droim na Gaoithe and An Chreig Bhui.
The proposed development is relatively small in nature and scale, and it is proposed to employ sustainable and nature-based solutions in terms of dealing with the rainwater generated by the project.
Pictured: Cllr David Collins at the pedestrian crossing in Claregalway.