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When Jacques-Louis of Bougrenet de la Tocnaye strolled into Galway in the late 1790s with his swordstick slung over his shoulder, the Frenchman was struck by the disconnect between the town, its lake and the sea.
Gerry Barrett's plans for "Ceannt Quarter", the CIÉ-owned 8.2-acre site around Ceannt Railway and Bus Station. Barrett's team is now inviting public submissions on redevelopment of the highly valued city center location, which it has secured for several months.
Project Ceannt is one of the largest urban regeneration schemes in the history of the State, with a view to the market of food and beverages. overlooking Eyre Square.
"A new heart for an old city" was the first step in the process of consulting a masterplan before a planning application is made.
Preferred bidder
The site has been upgraded to a 15-acre site, but plans were abandoned in 2012 due to the recession.
By then, Barrett's fortunes were also changing. The G Hotel and Meyrick Hotel (now Galmont) in Galway, the D in Drogheda, Co Louth, and Ashford Castle in Co Mayo.
The Galway businessman broke away from the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) when € 778 million in loans held by his company, Edward Holdings, were sold off at a considerable discount. He continues to run Scotch Hall Shopping Center in Drogheda.
Galway Docks and Adjoining Ceannt Station, named Bonham Quay, and a site purchased for $ 9 million before the property crash. "Bonham Quay has 43 per cent open space incorporated into its design, and this new project at Ceannt station will have around 40 per cent open space, including in upper levels," he told The Irish Times we have a recent tour of the area.
Bonham Quay is located on the land used for fuel storage tanks that accommodate two Volvo Ocean yachting breed festivals in Galway.The area has a decontamination plan, and is expected to start next February, with target completion in August 2020.
More than 26,000sqm of office space is provided for the $ 130 million Bonham Quay development by Edward Barrett's company, Edward Capital. Its four blocks, ranging in size from 4,820 to 11,845sqm, could accommodate up to 2,600 employees, according to Edward Capital, and it could be more than 500 jobs.
"Ceannt Quarter", which Barrett stresses is a working title, is for use in Galway City Council and is a local area plan for the area – a move criticized by An Taisce's Galway branch.
Similarly, Barrett's team said this was a decision taken by Galway City Council during the preparation of its development plan. However, that plan has not yet been developed to include a significant level of engagement with the local authority, the public and adjoining landowners.
The public consultation exercise is a commitment to his team. Galway, and Athlone, Tuam and Athenry, said his team says, given that Galway's annual rate of 2.3 million.
Galway, which has several third-party institutions requiring more accommodation, is also benefiting from a substantial growth in tourism, with more than 1.344 million people visiting the city during 2016.
It is anticipated that the Cantic Quarter will include a hotel, along with a residential, community and retail element. CIÉ's one requirement is that 130 carparking spaces should be provided. A minimum of 30 percent of the overall space must be residential, according to the planning conditions, and a cultural / arts facility must also be provided.
Transport facilities
Upgrading of bus and rail facilities, along with underground parking, must be "frontloaded", according to Galway city's 2017-2023 development plan. ICES says that it will retain full use of the land for a period of two years from now, and it will relocate the railway sidings to the area. ICES will also relocate the drivers' accommodation during this period.
"From a public transport perspective, we believe that it is sufficient," CIÉ says.
CIÉ will continue to own the site under a development agreement, subject to an annual site license fee and higher income or income sharing agreement. The approach is similar to CIÉ's redevelopment of Connolly Station, Boston Sidings and Tara Street station in Dublin, it says.
The Ceannt station is on split levels, overlooking Galway Bay, Lough Atalia and Renmore Barracks to the east. It currently accommodates the Portershed technology hub.
Listed buildings
It has several parts, including a train and goods shed where Guinness Barrels would have been stored for delivery and Connemara, along with a set of stable. An old Bedford fire truck ("Mucadh Toiteáin"), Barrett's team says.
The area also has several protected structures adjoining it, including Forthill Cemetery, dating back to about 1500, and a four-bay chapel to the south of its entrance, including a plate commemorating burial of the Spanish Armada shipwrecks shipwrecks of 1588.
Ceannt Quarter has significant badociations with Galway 's history over the past 170 years. A cholera hospital was just closed and the immediate impact of the famine was just receding in June 1849 when it was announced that the railway was being extended from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, to the west coast port.
What was the new Queen's College – the new university – also enrolled its first cohort of 68 students in October of that same year.
Galway's then mover and shaker, Fr Peter Daly, is credited with securing the rail extension, which was greeted with the ringing of Joy bells and illumination of what was then a town, according to NUI Galway historian John Cunningham.
The rail line took just two years to build, with the first train arriving on July 21st, 1851, Cunningham writes in his history, A Town Tormented by the Sea: Galway, 1790-1914. The train link to the east end of "Galway time", and local clocks were put forward by 11½ minutes to bring them into line with Dublin.
Train plans
A previous redevelopment masterplan for the area more than a decade ago included a new bus and rail station, an "urban park", a 150-room four-star hotel and a 16-storey apartment building, with some 56,000sq m of retail space , cafes, bars and restaurants.
This time the area is small, but Barrett's team believes it is important for more retail space, while it can rival the adjoining Galmont, formerly owned by the developer.
With Galway's European City of Culture 2020 on the horizon, and a 10-year cultural strategy by the city council, there has been much recent focus on the city's shortage of performance space.
However, Barrett's team points out that a decent performance building would cost at least € 15 million, requiring an area of at least a 65m x 45m wide footprint. They say it is more likely that a community would be built, drama or film school.
Barrett's representatives attended a recent meeting of the new Galway Environmental Network as part of September's inaugural Loving Galway festival. An Taisce Galway branch chairman Derrick Hambleton, who was also present, but is concerned about the wider issue of "developer-led" planning in Galway.
Full debate
Prof. Ulf Strohmayer, a geographer at NUIG, also says that it should be a priority for the Galway City Council, allowing for a full debate on the future of the city and developing a "human scale". living, innovation and a high-quality cultural space.
He notes that Edward Holding's track record on the relationship between public and private spaces is "not encouraging", as it is a barrier to the past. However, a spokesman for Barrett said it would be "central" to the Ceannt Quarter development.
Strohmayer quotes from the Border Plumbing Inspector's report on proposed construction on Queen Street. The inspector noted a "sense of disenfranchisement evident" in third-party submissions based on lack of public participation in the evolution of Galway's inner harbor area.
The geographer said there should be a real consultation on planning for a new city rather than relying on developer-led concepts that "frame" the shape of a "color-coded city". In spite of "insurances to the contrary", there is currently a "limited commitment to a legal basis or principles-based decision-making", he says.
Barrett has been given seven years by CIÉ to develop the area, and it is expected to be completed by 2025. His team intends to respond to the public consultation.
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