Submission to Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028 on behalf of Claregalway Tidy Towns
Claregalway bypass
Claregalway Tidy Towns Association are very disappointed and annoyed that the indicative
route of the Claregalway bypass has been removed from the current County Development Plan. An
indicative bypass route has been part of the zoning map for Claregalway Area Plan since 2005.
Putting this indicative route back would allow for the orderly development of Baile Chláir in line with
the National Planning Framework (NPF) which states that provision will be made for a Metropolitan
Area Strategic Plan (MASP) that will focus on delivery of population and economic development.
Oranmore, Baile Chláir and Bearna now form part of the (MASP) area. The metropolitan area
straddles the boundary with Galway City Council which will require close collaboration in delivering
housing and jobs within the metropolitan area.
The MASP does not articulate that facilities need to be provided to support the proposed
development to promote integrated living within Baile Chláir. Safe cycling and walking routes to the
3 schools have not been delivered hence the reliance on private travel to school. The 3 schools are in
close proximity to each other and the lack of proper transport for the schools is the cause of some
the traffic issues in Claregalway. Claregalway is a dangerous place for cyclists and pedestrians and
will continue to be so unless there is a bypass created for the area. Since lockdown cyclists are
cycling at speed on the footpaths even though there are no designated cycle lanes in the village
centre, and they show little regard for pedestrians.
There are sections of footpaths that are unusable due to lack of maintenance or poor short-
sighted design failures. We hope that funding to resolve these issues will be provided under the
Town & Village renewal scheme which we have applied for.
Zoning Map from Claregalway Local Area Plan 2005-2011
Traffic in Claregalway
Traffic volumes are quickly returning to their pre Covid-19 volumes as indicated by the TII
traffic counter at Loughgeorge with daily traffic flows now exceeding 17,000 vehicles per day. This
makes the bypass necessary to allow safe travel to school when the current school transport rules
dictate that transport will only be provided for students outside of a 3km radius of the school. School
records for the 3 schools are as follows; Coláiste Bhaile Chláir 1156 pupils, Claregalway National
School 315 pupils and Claregalway Educate Together N S 184 giving a total of 1655 pupils all located
within less than 1km of each other.
Population Growth. Facilities needed
While Claregalway has grown substantially in the past couple of years in terms of housing
provision the facilities needed to support that growing population have not kept pace with these
developments. In respect to housing provision the community need a variety of housing styles to
meet all the community needs from single people, couples, families and smaller homes for older
people who have houses too big for their needs who would like to live near the town centre nearer
to all the facilities. We need planning policy to consider the most efficient use of the housing stock
so that if there are vacant properties that can be brought up to current building standards at a
reasonable cost given the infrastructure in terms of electricity and water are in-place to these
houses.
Our planning system dictates that creche facilities be provided in all large housing
developments, however no provision is made for children from 5 to 18 in terms of recreation and
amenity facilities. This shortfall needs to be rectified in every large-scale development including in
the land recently purchased by Galway County Council in Claregalway.
There is no playground in Claregalway this needs to be provided as a matter of urgency
catering for all ages from 2 to 102. We had a situation in Claregalway where the young people were
jumping into the river in the fine weather because they had nowhere else to go.
The following map was produced by RPS on behalf of Claregalway Community Development
Association to try and address the lack of facilities for the ever-growing population of Claregalway.
We would like to have this drawing included in the plan to provide a template for the development
of recreation facilities for the people of Claregalway. This is based on around the GAA pitch and
community centre. It is ironic that the Dept. of Education provide the bare minimum of outdoor
sports for the 1300+ pupils of the 2 schools. It is not fair that the local community have to provide
facilities due to the failures of the planning process and state agencies
The best way to address increased residential density and to create an attractive, residential
environment and good community in Claregalway is first and foremost to construct a bypass around
the town. Without a bypass, urban living in Claregalway will not be an attractive place to live and
work.
Bi-lingual signs
The signage on the motorway needs to be changed to remove the confusion between Baile
Chláir (Claregalway) on the motorway network which is regularly confused with Belclare (Béal an
Chláir). Irish is not the main teaching language for any of the 3 local schools. Although the usage of
Irish in Claregalway is low we are still part of the Gaeltacht. The signs on the motorway for
Claregalway should be bi-lingual.
It is ironic that the planning authority allowed housing development in lands designated as
Zone 2 when the 7.12 hectares designated for development in Zone 1 have not been developed. If
there is a plan adopted by the council, it must be followed by the planners.
Zoning Map from Current Development Plan
The submission made by Maureen O’Hara on the draft CDP plan raises the many issues
effecting Claregalway and we echo her comments.
We have also contributed to the submission made by Galway County PPN addressing the 11
topics raised in the issues paper published by the planning authority.
Thank you on behalf of Claregalway Tidy Towns
