Stadium floodlights approved – but not for concerts

The Planning Appeals Board has imposed a ban on new floodlights at Pearse Stadium in Salthill being used for concerts, as well as stringent conditions on when they can be used. Residents have lost their battle to prevent the GAA from erecting the five columns at the grounds – which will each have up to 40 lighting fixtures. Last August, Galway City Council approved plans for the three 30.5 metre and two 36.5 metre high columns – each with between 33 and 40 lighting fixtures – despite concerns expressed in nearly 100 objections from locals and residents’ groups that the lights would seriously harm the residential amenity in the area. That decision was subsequently the subject of seven appeals –submitted by the Claddagh Residents’ Association, two from the Glenard Residents’ Association and on behalf of Rockbarton residents, while individual appeals were lodged ‘care of’ three other residents. Concerns were raised over the impact the noise and lights would have on nearby homes, illegal parking, health & safety and traffic congestion. An Bord Pleanála spent four months considering the appeals, and have now ruled that the lights ‘would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health, and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience’. However, they ruled that the lights can only be used on a maximum of 12 occasions between October 1 and March 31 in any one calendar year.