Public hearing on Û1bn Ceannt Station revamp 'still possible'

An Bórd Pleanála could hold a full public oral hearing into the proposed €1 billion redevelopment of Ceannt Station – which include plans for 17-storey high rise buildings – in order to bring transparency to the planning process surrounding the project, the City Manager has said.

During fiery exchanges at Thursday’s Council meeting Manager Joe MacGrath rejected claims that CIE had been “secretive” in its handling of the planning process for the station revamp.

Mr MacGrath told Councillors that it has been decided that the proposed development is “strategic infrastructure” and therefore the CIE will apply for planning permission directly to An Bórd Pleanála and not the local authority. But this did not mean that the elected representatives or the public were being excluded, he said.

“The process requires a very significant amount of public consultation and City Councillors will also be given an opportunity to include their input in the plan. The planning process is absolutely transparent and allows for full public consultation. If they want to, An Bórd Pleanála could even hold an oral hearing into Ceannt Station to allow the public to go before the Board to air their views,” said Mr MacGrath.

The manager then told Cllrs that they were welcome to invite CIE to come before the Council to outline their proposals for the revamp but this drew the wrath of City Councillor Catherine Connolly (Ind).

“This process has gone on for over three years and CIE is doing it completely behind closed doors. We have asked them to make a presentation to the Council on two occasions and they have refused. They are treating us with utter contempt and have avoided us for three years when they are planning two seventeen storey high rise buildings as part of this development,” she said. Cllr Connolly was also critical of the amount of space in the 14-acres site dedicated to retail and residential.

Mr MacGrath said at no stage had CIE refused to come before the Council although he admitted invites from the previous two mayors, Cllr Tom Costello and Cllr Pádraig Conneely, were not taken-up by CIE.

The Mayor of Galway City, Cllr Declan McDonnell, will now write to CIE for the third time and invite its consultants and planners to present its plans for the redevelopment to City Councillors.

Councillor Brian Walsh told the meeting that some Councillors needed to “get real” in relation to Ceannt Station. The Fine Gael Cllr said the people who own the site are not going to redevelop it solely as a transport hub and needed to include a certain element of retail and residential in order to earn the sufficient return to make it possible to provide a transport element.

Councillor Mike Crowe agreed and added that 17 or 20 storey buildings should not just be rejected for the sake of it because in certain parts of the city, high rises may actually suit.