Way cleared for Tuam sports and leisure facility
It may have taken three years to confirm who even owns it – but the way is finally clear for the development of a new sporting and leisure facility beside Tuam Stadium.
Establishing ownership of the field – earmarked as a warm-up area for teams using the Stadium itself and as a recreational area for local residents – had proved beyond Galway County Council’s best efforts.
But now Director of Services Liam Gavin has finally been able to confirm to local councillors that the field is, in fact, in the ownership of the Council itself.
It was understood that it was donated to the town back in the ‘sixties but the title deeds could not be found.
Three years ago there was agreement to allocate Browne’s Field at the rear of Tuam Stadium to both the GAA and local residents – only for it to be bound up in ‘red tape’.
Even recently Council officials admitted that the issue had still not been resolved – but they assured councillors that it would be resolved shortly.
Cllr Shaun Cunniffe said that there were major efforts to redevelop Tuam Stadium and the allocation of the additional lands for a ‘warm up’ area were much appreciated.
But he said that he could not understand why the process was taking so long. He said that he was of the belief that the matter had been resolved.
In recent years there was agreement to lease Browne’s Field to the GAA as well as allowing the residents to develop it as a leisure area for their convenience.
But the snag was that Galway County Council could not prove that it actually owned the field – even though it was assumed that they did.
They embarked on a frantic trawl through documentation but failed to come up with the title deeds.
In the meantime, the leasing arrangement could not proceed and it proved frustrating for the residents in particular who wanted to embark on the recreational development.
But this week it has emerged that Mr Gavin has established that Galway County Council owns the land, and a leasing arrangement with the GAA is currently with their legal representatives.
Cllr Cunniffe said that he was delighted that the matter had come to a conclusion and believed that the GAA would be able to develop the field over the coming months as well as accommodating the local residents.
“It is great that the question of the title of the property has been resolved,” Cllr Cunniffe added.