Galway Ring Road CPO issued as residents seek clarity
Galway County Council has issued notice for the compulsory acquisition of land along the 18km route, which received approval from An Coimisiún Pleanála last month and remains open to potential judicial review.
The 54 affected homeowners are expecting letters this week outlining the next steps in the acquisition process following a high-level meeting with Galway City and County Council Chief Executives and the National Transport and Roads Office (NTRO).
“These have always been their family homes and we need to make sure they are treated fairly,” says Fine Gael Cllr Shane Forde.
“The 54 families who are directly impacted will get a letter this week detailing what will happen over the coming months.
“Two full-time liaison officers will be their point of contact. The letters will set out a path. The council is in a place to offer money for their homes. There is an issue in that some family members have passed away and the letters will be sent to the family member dealing with this.”
Cllr Forde reiterated that many family members on the east side of the city want to stay in their local community and says this could be facilitated through the upcoming Local Area Development Plan for Castlegar.
“If we can rezone lands in the location where they are from, we can deliver land for homes in their locality,” he says.
“They want to stay in their community and, if we do a proper development plan for Castlegar, some of those families won't have to move far away to be relocated.”
Local resident Marie O' Donovan has championed the needs of the community since the project was first mooted and has become the liaison for up to 30 families living in the Castlegar area who are affected by the Ring Road.
Now retired, she says they are simply looking for certainty as the process “does not support the human side” and is “not fit for purpose”.
“We don't want to go, we are being forced,” she says.
It is stressful and being forced to move really adds to that stress. The reality is I am the youngest on our road. I am 67 and the age profile is between that and 85. This is a huge upheaval at this stage in our lives. They should look at us differently as, realistically, we are looking at a home to live out our days in.
“We have lived in this limbo for 12 years and some even longer. We have a window to take a judicial review but what we are looking for is certainty. My blood pressure is through the roof.”
At this month's meeting of Galway City Council, Director of Services Derek Pender said they have “communicated with residents for the last 8 years, since 2018, and that has never stopped”.
The door is always open and phones are always answered
He said the “door is always open and the phones are always answered”.
Meanwhile, Marie confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that official communication has not been forthcoming.
“I am in touch with 30 of the families and none of us have had anything,” she says.
“One or two had letters but overall we have received nothing, not a phone call or a letter - nothing from Galway City or County Council.
“We are expecting a letter but they have to confirm who amongst us is dead or alive. My next-door neighbour has died. That shows the level of interest they have in us. They don't know if we are dead or alive.”
At last month's Galway County Council meeting, Chief Executive Liam Conneally also said their “door is open to queries” and that property transactions will follow a set formula.
He added that any subsequent planning applications would be treated as a “separate process” and “judged on their merits,” while adding, “we will obviously understand what is going on”.
Fine Gael Cllr Frank Fahy welcomed the development, stating that “correspondence will issue to residents affected in the very near future to open the lines of communication."
“Until the date for a potential judicial review expires, there is still no clarity on timelines,” he concludes.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme