Doughiska Schools

RealRedfraggle · 13-03-2012 10:55am

As a resident will be interested to see exactly what they propose at the entrance. Why they changed the orginal plan (that they deny existed) and changed the location of the schools from where the current school is now is beyond me.
Ten years I've been hearing about these schools and it is still a mess!

Zzippy · 13-03-2012 11:53am

Attached PDF of the new access road as proposed at the GCC meeting on 5th March.
I've seen the residents submission on this and there are serious questions to be asked of GCC planning department - for instance the floor area of the school increased by 47% between outline permission and full permission stage, and the position and elevation of the post-primary school was also changed significantly from outline planning stage. Lots of questions that should have been asked by planning officials were not asked. They even ignored other sections in the CC that requested information before they could give consent.

13-03-2012 12:09pm

surime wrote: »

Are you serious? Across to Dublin Road??? Is this what you mean? If it is I am absolutely shocked and if somebody is going to protest against it I will join today! They are going to damage the only green place in Galway?
I just hope this is not true! :mad::(:(:(:mad:

It is to provide a bus corridor to the Ardaun area - this is the area where the bulk of residential development will occur in the future - it is the area to the east of the city.

Mrs OBumble · 13-03-2012 2:42pm

Deleted User wrote: »

It is to provide a bus corridor to the Ardaun area - this is the area where the bulk of residential development will occur in the future - it is the area to the east of the city.

Allegedly. Do you know anyone who's planning to build out there?

I've heard from reliable sources that city council officials have said that they are looking at a Park and Ride site somewhere off the N6 on the other side of the dual carriageway from Doughiska Rd. And that they expect all the tourist buses from Dublin to be using the bus-corridor. [Conscious of the no-traffic-threads request ... this info comes from a meeting about the Doughiska schools, and is directly related to why they don't want the school access to use the bus-corridor.]

Also, re green areas: there are two in the east of the city. Merlin Woods and the far smaller Roscam Woods. Maybe 2.5 if you count Ballyloughane beach / dunes as green.

The development plan talks about developing recreational areas in Murrough (seems to be a townland or somesuch name for the area betweeen Renmore and Merlin Park), but is vague about details.

It seems mad to me to destroy one recreational area and build another at the same time. Especially when the one to be destroyed is so close to schools that could use it. (keeping on topic

)

antoobrien · 13-03-2012 2:59pm

JustMary wrote: »

Allegedly. Do you know anyone who's planning to build out there?

Arduan, along with Birarhill and Gurraun is one of the areas that mentioned in the 2009-15 county development plan.

There are area plans available for Ardaun & Briarhill ( was included in the 2003-2009 county plan).

Afaik there are no concrete plans new developments for any of these areas.

Sponge Bob · 13-03-2012 6:21pm

Zzippy wrote: »

There are serious questions to be asked of GCC planning department - for instance the floor area of the school increased by 47% between outline permission and full permission stage

I see a road there ZZippy, where exactly are the cars supposed to turn around to come back out of the schools though??

antoobrien · 26-03-2012 11:33am

It's been reported that the Túr Uisce residents have widthdrawn their objection to the school.

Clrr Declan McDonnell claims that the residents withdrew the objection last Friday, though ABP have said they haven't received it yet (probably in the post lads).

This would appear to be good news.

antoobrien · 26-03-2012 11:36am

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I see a road there ZZippy, where exactly are the cars supposed to turn around to come back out of the schools though??

The drawing indicates that the entrance will be moved about 20 yards close to the park, so I'd imagine that cars will have to enter the school grounds and turn there (which appears to have been the case originally).

antoobrien · 27-03-2012 9:02am

Way cleared for two schools as objection is withdrawn

The two schools can now go ahead under PPP, assumming BAM can find the funding (should be easier than getting a couple few hundred million to build the roads they're contracted to build in Galway & Wicklow).

fissureseal · 31-03-2012 8:24pm

Anyone have any idea when the school building will start seeing the planning issues appear to be sorted or will it be like oranmore train station , always due to start in a month or two

Sponge Bob · 31-03-2012 9:39pm

Be open september next year I reckon. It took no time to build Scoil Dara.

antoobrien · 02-04-2012 9:34am

fissureseal wrote: »

Anyone have any idea when the school building will start seeing the planning issues appear to be sorted or will it be like oranmore train station , always due to start in a month or two

The difference between this project and the oranmore train station is that oranmore was a sop to keep people quiet while there's no funding (which was well known when it was announced), whereas the schools program actually has funding.

Caggles · 24-10-2012 1:46am

With regard to the bus corridor through Merlin Woods, there will be massive objections, this area is used by many people, families,groups,. It is place free from traffic and pollution, it is a beautiful quiet area which many people use. It is a crazy plan to bring a road through the woods. The bus corridor also runs alongside the new park and the kids playground, the bus corridor will have 200-300 buses in peak season, which is usual the time when kids are using the park all the time. The woods is also full of many different types of wildlife. It is a place which gets very little publicity and very little attention from the city council. A bus corridor may only be the beginning of the destruction of Merlin Woods but it will not be destroyed without a fight...

Caggles · 24-10-2012 1:50am

Incidentally if your are fan of keeping our very bio-diverse wood and promoting its good qualities please check out Friends of Merlin Woods https://www.facebook.com/groups/128207273995064/ and keep an eye out for the website coming soon!!

antoobrien · 12-11-2012 5:02pm

Saw this on Galwaynews earlier, thought it worthy of an update.

CONSTRUCTION OF DOUGHISKA SCHOOLS TO GET UNDERWAY

Building work on two new schools in the city is expected to get underway within weeks following an investment from the European Investment Bank.

Around 200 jobs will be created during the construction of a 450 pupil primary school and a 650 pupil post primary school on a shared campus in Doughiska.

The schools are two of eight capital projects nationally that will benefit from a 50 million euro loan from the EIB, which will allow them to be delivered under the public private partnership model.

The Doughiska schools were earmarked for progression under the Department of Education and skillls five year school building programme earlier this year.

Galway West TD Brian Walsh says he's confident construction will get underway 'relatively soon'.

fergiesfolly · 13-11-2012 12:20am

There was a meeting hosted by the Galway City VEC in the Clayton hotel a few weeks ago, about the new secondary school and they were very confident that the school would be built in time for the start of the 2013 school year.
I'm hoping that confidence is borne out,as we've enrolled our child there.
It looks like a fantastic campus for what its worth and will be a huge bonus for the area to have a primary and secondary school on their doorstep.
Its worth noting that the principal of Coláiste na Coiribe was at the meeting and pointed out that they've been waiting patiently for a purpose built home since they opened in 1992!!! So Doughiska isn't doing too bad in relative terms.

galwaytt · 14-12-2012 1:47pm

....it will not be open for Sept 2013 - the target date the contractors on the ground are working to is 2014.

Mrs OBumble · 14-12-2012 2:00pm

I've heard that the initial plan was to open with just one class - may be phase in plan for buildings.

antoobrien · 14-12-2012 2:33pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I've heard that the initial plan was to open with just one class - may be phase in plan for buildings.

That's how it has been done in the past here. It's before my time but IIRC when the moneen opened up they opened for first years only, with extra classes being brought on stream over the next few years. My mother was attending Fr Griffins (GTI) at the time and she and one of her brothers finished there, while the younger two went to the moneen.

galwaytt · 14-12-2012 2:43pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I've heard that the initial plan was to open with just one class - may be phase in plan for buildings.

...that might work in the 1970's - but opening one stream/class, in a 3-storey building, on a working building site ? H & S and litigation nightmare I'd have thought.

It might be they'll open the N.S before the Secondary, or vice-versa alright.

Zzippy · 14-12-2012 5:07pm

Whatever their deadline, they're working pretty damn hard in there - machinery going from 7am til after 6pm, even on Friday evenings. They were pouring concrete last week (presumably for foundations) which is incredibly fast, considering they only started on site about 3 weeks ago.. I would have thought groundworks to prepare the site for that stage would have taken a lot longer.

xtradel · 14-12-2012 5:28pm

It will only open for first year students. Thats what was said at the meeting that was held in the Clayton a few weeks back.

Mrs OBumble · 14-12-2012 9:52pm

And the national school is already open in pre-fabs at the other side of the park.

Stevolende · 11-04-2013 7:19am

The paths being blocked so you can't get onto the park from the Amber House side of Doughiska road is a major pain. Is it legal if there are no warning signs up that the path is blocked?

I take it this is for a road into the school, though there is nothing up anywhere along the road to say anything about it. Wondered if they leafletted/sent letters to the residents of Tuir Uisce and whatever that estate at the back is, about it.

it is a major pain and walking to the estate at the back relies on going that route doesn't it?
Would think they would at least put up sign posts saying path blocked, so you didn't start down that path and then find your way blocked by orange netting or those flat bollards. They've now taken to trying to block that path completely. Is that not a public right of way anyway?
Maybe pedestrians really don't need to be considered? I wouldn't think that for a moment though.

Doughiska Schools

Comments