An Coimisiún Pleanála will not hold oral hearings for Galway Ring Road as decision expected by end of March
An Coimisiún Pleanála has decided that the planning application for the Galway City Ring Road will be considered without an oral hearing.
Correspondence shared on Instagram between Galway Senator Seán Kyne and An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) revealed that the commission believes the case can be “dealt with adequately through written procedure”.
Oral hearings typically allow members of the public and other parties to make submissions in person on major planning cases.
Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West John Connolly said the absence of an oral hearing would prevent further delays to the process.
Speaking in an Instagram video, he said a decision on the application is now expected within six weeks.
Athenry Councillor David Collins raised the development at a Corporate Policy Group (CPG) meeting today, January 19, where he spoke with the chief executive and planning director. He said both expressed positive views on the decision.
Cllr Collins told the Irish Independent it is good news for Galway that no oral hearing will take place, citing the “hard work” already put into the application by Galway County Council.
He also said all public submissions have been taken into consideration.
“The public had an opportunity to make the submissions and now because there’s no oral hearing, it’s up to An Coimisiún Pleanála to make the final decision on it,” he said.
“We are hoping that will be pretty soon because it’s big news for Galway, in relation to planning, land use, even economic strategies and wastewater infrastructure, as well as our own county development plan,” he added. “It has implications for all those things.”
Cllr Collins said the unofficial timeline remains unchanged, with a decision from ACP still expected before the end of the first quarter of the year.