Galway Ring Road homeowners can sell now and opt for two payment scenarios
Galway County Council has confirmed in a letter to homeowners that negotiations can now begin
Householders whose properties lie in the shadow of the proposed route for the city ring road can finally begin the negotiations with Galway County Council so that their homes can be acquired now in advance of work getting underway.
They can also opt for one of two scenarios – they can be paid in full now or they receive a portion of their money and wait in their homes until work on the ring road is about to start.
That’s all according to Minister of State Noel Grealish, who described this as the final chapter in a long story for the 54 homeowners whose houses are to be demolished or acquired to make way for the giant project.
Galway County Council has confirmed in a letter to homeowners that negotiations can now begin on the acquisition of the properties and compensation will be paid on the signing of a contract, for those owners willing to take up a voluntary acquisition option.
“These people have been living in a hellish state of limbo for years, knowing that their homes are to be demolished or bought out but unable to move on with their lives until the ring road finally got the go-ahead,” said Minister Grealish.
“Some of them have been living like this for the past 20 years as their homes were also on the path of the previous ill-fated city by-pass plan. They couldn’t sell a house that was to be demolished and there was no point spending money on any improvements.
Minister Grealish said he had been strongly pressing for this part of the process to get the go-ahead and allow people to move forward with their lives, without waiting for the outcome of the judicial reviews challenging the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant permission for the ring road.
“What this big step forward means is that the owners, a lot of them elderly, can opt now to sell immediately, or many will be able to take the option of getting most of the money up front and staying on in their homes for some time until they get alternatives sorted out or until the work is about to start in their area.”
Of the 54 houses involved, 44 will be demolished and the other ten will be bought out because of their close proximity to the route of the 18km road stretching from the end of the M6 motorway at the Coolagh roundabout to a point west of Barna village.
In a letter to the owners, Galway County Council said that if agreement is reached on the acquisition of their property, “in certain circumstances it may be possible to delay vacant possession and afford you the opportunity to reside in your residence subject to agreed timelines under a licence agreement”.
Those owners would receive a portion of the agreed compensation amount when the sale is completed, and the remainder when they move out.
“Should you decide not to avail of the voluntary acquisition option above then the compulsory purchase processes will be available to you once a Notice to Treat is served for your property,” said the letter from Sean Devaney, Senior Engineer with the Galway National Roads Project Office
The Council added that its property negotiators, Lisney, had a team in place should homeowners or people acting for them wish to communicate with them.