Council vote on new Westside Tesco

?Cee?view

I wonder will the traffic really be that much heavier? I'd say that traffic is just being used as a bit of a red herring by the residents.

If it does go ahead, it's hard to see how it could ever by as busy as O Higgins was in the construction boom. There are certainly less builders' trucks around Shantalla and Maunsell's Road.

I think this development is in the Higgins' factory. If it goes ahead there, surely then won't be any trucks making deliveries to and from the factory.

To me, it seems that anything that makes the west side of the town more self-contained deserves serious consideration. Who would actually want to go over to the Headford Road from west of the river if it can be avoided? Maybe this should be considered rather than just the concerns of relatively few residents, who likely aren't going to experience much more traffic anyway.

Sponge Bob

churchview wrote: »

I wonder will the traffic really be that much heavier? I'd say that traffic is just being used as a bit of a red herring by the residents.
Maybe this should be considered rather than just the concerns of relatively few residents, who likely aren't going to experience much more traffic anyway.

The traffic will be lunatic as anywone with any sense knows, especially the residents. Put it in the hole in Knocknacarra where the road network can deal with it and which is not residential, not off the SQR which will largely be bus lanes as we know.

?Cee?view

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The traffic will be lunatic as anywone with any sense knows, especially the residents. Put it in the hole in Knocknacarra where the road network can deal with it and which is not residential, not off the SQR which will largely be bus lanes as we know.

Would it though? You could have traffic in one side (SQR) and out the other (Shantalla). The exiting traffic would go up to the junction with SQR nearest Glen Dara as presumably most would be going West.

It still seems to me that some consideration of the benefits of traffic being taken away from crossing the river should be considered.

Sure, the hole in Rahoon would be the perfect place, but is the developer there actually talking to anyone, not to mind Tesco? In Shantalla, Michael O'hUiginn is doing the talking so maybe his proposal with get through even if the Rahoon hole would be a much better site.

TristanPeter

I'm not really for or against the development. I think it would have pros and cons. Has there been any actual site plans proposed? I'd love to see the layout and especially parking details. Surely there would have to be underground parking in place? If so, they might learn a thing or two from the Knocknacarra system.

On a side note, it really annoys me that Catherine Connolly was the cause of €120,000 in legal fees (correct me if I'm wrong). She's a solicitor/barrister so I'm sure she would have been aware of the potential results of her actions, which IMO were totally unacceptable and childish. Who pays these legal costs? But anyway...

Sponge Bob

TristanPeter wrote: »

IOn a side note, it really annoys me that Catherine Connolly was the cause of €120,000 in legal fees (correct me if I'm wrong). She's a solicitor/barrister so I'm sure she would have been aware of the potential results of her actions, which IMO were totally unacceptable and childish. Who pays these legal costs? But anyway...

Fair point. If the council was liable to large costs because she refused to leave the chamber and then voted, after a valid ruling that she should leave, then she should be liable for those costs.

But a Tesco on that site, nahhh! The large electricty substation makes it impossible to configure properly and the roads around it are not suitable for the traffic it would generate.

It would be a good site for private hospital perhaps :cool:

_Whimsical_

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Fair point. If the council was liable to large costs because she refused to leave the chamber and then voted, after a valid ruling that she should leave, then she should be liable for those costs.

But a Tesco on that site, nahhh! The large electricty substation makes it impossible to configure properly and the roads around it are not suitable for the traffic it would generate.

It would be a good site for private hospital perhaps :cool:

I agree ,it would completely change the nature of the area and is a dreadful of idea in term of future traffic, not just for residents but for everyone using those roads to head west to Barna,Rahoon and Knocknacarra in the evening times. The whole point of the SQ road works was to ease traffic problems not so we could facilitate Tesco in creating more. You just have to imagine the havoc on those roads come Christmas time etc when you have almost the entire population of the west side of the city crawling along towards Tesco gridlock just to get home every evening. It is madness.

A private hospital or similar facility could work nicely ,good thinking Sponge Bob.:cool:

Mrs OBumble

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

A private hospital or similar facility could work nicely ,good thinking Sponge Bob.:cool:

Or there's a public hospital just a hop-skip-and-jump away that allegedly needs more space.

Sponge Bob

I would not in the least mind a Tesco Metro in Salthill either, especially if the Burrenmount was flattened to make way for it. But the idea that a new neighbourhood shopping centre is needed across the road from Westside shopping centre is simply risible.

After the complete mess the corpo made of the entrance to Dunnes in Briarhill I have no confidence in anything the corpo planners are likely to do on the traffic management side.

snubbleste

But Spongebob, look at the Headford Road..it has a number of competing supermarkets withing striking distance and heavily accessible to pedestrians, bar the horrible roundabout. It's not all about motorists, which is what most of the objections seem to be against. Why could'nt that scenario be duplicated on the western side of town?

The council have a policy of creating town centres with services, and this would fit right in with that policy. I think it's an excellent location for a large supermarket, not particularly in favour of a Tesco, but anything that offers more choice to ripped-off Galwegians is good.

Sponge Bob

snubbleste wrote: »

But Spongebob, look at the Headford Road..it has a number of competing supermarkets withing striking distance and heavily accessible to pedestrians

Yeah right

Headford road Tesco was built 40 years ago in a windswept bog on the outskirts of Galway, there was nothing else out there at the time, it was as peripheral as Briarhill is today...or even more so. It first introduced 9pm friday opening because people only had one car back then and could get in to shop for once after the breadwinner arrived home.

It would be no trouble for a pedestrian to walk to Dunnes Knocknacarra from Westside/Highfield if you consider Headford Rd accessible. Over half the city population lives west of the Corrib and all they really had was Dunnes Westside until around 10 years ago.

UPCurley

In my opinion,

You're not getting choice with another Tesco. You're being limited to the products this large U.K. company selects for you to choose from. A lot of them sourced from large english companys.

Having another Tesco on that road, will mean that Westside will become a ghost town. Local family businesses will shut down. Then we definately won't have much choice in what to buy in the area.

Dunnes has it's faults. It's not my favourite place to shop, but maybe that's a good thing. It means that I have to go and shop in local butchers, fruit and veg shops, healthcare shops, bakers, specialty shops to suppliment my grocery shop. This gives me a much better and fresher selection of produce to bring him. It is also likelier that some of the product will be more locally sources, thus supporting jobs and being better quality and freshness.

| was someone who mindlessly bought my food and bits and pieces in the supermarket, but over a couple of years, I found that I wised up and now I only use the supermarket to buy what's on my list...some named items that I can't get anywhere else. I don't want to be 'seduced and pursuaded' to come out of a place with three for the price of two items I had no intention of picking up to begin with.

Westside is a unique area in Galway. It's not a strip like in the U.K. that you drive past every 20 or 30 km that has a repeat of the same mcdonalds, tesco, etc. etc.....Let's keep it that way. Lets support our local shops and friends and keep the jobs going. Let's spend our money on ourselves while times are tough. If you are like me, you will find the quality of your food, etc. will improve and you will be buying food that you want to eat. You will also be saving money too as you won't need as much 'stuff'.

Tesco might have come to Galway in the 80's. However, they left in the 80's when it wasn't profitible for them. They now see a market here. They will make huge profits and send them back to England. If it doesn't work out for them, they will leave. There will be no other businesses there then as they will have been wiped out.

I don't want that.

Sorry for the rant. Just my opinion. I read an article about how Tesco was ruining small towns in England also. I can't find it, but in my search, found this:

http://www.tescopoly.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=384&Itemid=191

thanks for taking the time to read this.

ps. I was also disgusted at the cynical attempts by Tesco to hoodwink the irish public. They advertised that they slashed the prices of something like 100 products, but when checked they had actually raised the prices before they did this. it was all over the media at the time. Do they really take customers as fools here?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0329/1224293299271.html

UPCurley

dell1211 wrote: »

I really hope that this does not happen. If it does Galway will have 2 large tesco shops, 1 hyper tesco and 2 tesco express.

Fair enough the petrol station will be good for galway as it will force other stations to reduce prices(like claremorris) but as for the rest its only going to damage galway in the long term, local family run businesses will close(bakerys, butcher, fish mongers, DIY shops, music shops, chemists, newsagents, off licences, clothes shops........), keep people away from the city centre and not to mention damage local suppliers. Each week there are hundreds of tesco trucks bringing in goods from the UK that can be produced in Ireland/Galway but they arent because Tesco have such a monopoly on suppliers that they can name their prices and only the very large suppliers win, for example look at cold meat counter, most of their meat comes from the UK(except the likes of denny/galtee). We should learn from the mistakes made in towns in the UK where they have become ghost areas due to tescos dominance.

Ill prob be accused of being a shill again, this time on behalf of aldi or dunnes and this thread will probably get locked like my gobus one was. So much for supporting local business at a time when they need it the most.

Hey Dell.
I just went back and read the whole thread now.
Sorry, for basically saying more or less what you said earlier.
But I totally agree with you.

padraig47

I am in favour of the development. I live near it and it could not make traffic any worse than at present. It will be good for the community.

awesome, cant wait, bout time a tesco filling station opened up in galway

as for traffic, meh, traffic has always been crap there, the council had their chabnce to fix, they botched it, adding a tesco wont make a blind bit of difference, gridlock is gridlock

colcar

planetX wrote: »

It's madness, hasn't Galway got enough supermarkets already?
We need amenities to make quality of life better - parks, swimming pools - anything but another Tesco....

very true planetx, theres plenty of places to shop around the place. why not build some thing for the community. the road is getting done, the local pitches practically dug up, and all that will be gained in the westside is a bloody tesco...

skelliser

UPCurley wrote: »

Tesco might have come to Galway in the 80's. However, they left in the 80's when it wasn't profitible for them. They now see a market here. They will make huge profits and send them back to England. If it doesn't work out for them, they will leave. There will be no other businesses there then as they will have been wiped out.

Tesco didnt arrive in ireland until 1997.
Up until then it was quinnsworth in the case of the now tesco store in the headford rd shopping centre.

Anyone remember the quinnsworth yellow pack stuff??!!;)

emptybladder

skelliser wrote: »

Tesco didnt arrive in ireland until 1997.
Up until then it was quinnsworth in the case of the now tesco store in the headford rd shopping centre.

Anyone remember the quinnsworth yellow pack stuff??!!;)

Tesco was in westside til 1986. Then they pulled out of Ireland but returned when they bought the Quinnsworth, Crazy Prices and Super Crazy Prices group. They became a class act in Westside in the 80s payin local lads 50p to return trolleys that were robbed. Then H Williams moved in and failed shortly thereafter.

skelliser

emptybladder wrote: »

Tesco was in westside til 1986. Then they pulled out of Ireland but returned when they bought the Quinnsworth, Crazy Prices and Super Crazy Prices group. They became a class act in Westside in the 80s payin local lads 50p to return trolleys that were robbed. Then H Williams moved in and failed shortly thereafter.

i stand corrected!

emptybladder

Remember goin to H "Williamses" with my mam when it was closing down. Daylight robbery, quite literally. People clearing racks of clothes and straight out the door.

Back to the point, Tesco will destroy the shopping centre. And if the constant rumour about Dunnes closing is true...

padraig47

The issue should not focus on Tesco, especiially given the history of the westside.
As someone who lives near proposed site, I cannot see how it can make things any worse then they are. The situation at Aldi is really bad at the moment.

The corporation will have to come up with a traffic plan if the development is approved.
I find it objectionable that people are opposing it on my behalf, when I have had no say. Some people object just for the sake of it, methinks.

Fey!

padraig47 wrote: »

...As someone who lives near proposed site,...
I find it objectionable that people are opposing it on my behalf, when I have had no say. Some people object just for the sake of it, methinks.

If you live opposite it, then chances are you've received notification of the meeting about this in the Ardilaun tonight at 8. So come along and object to the objections yourself.

TristanPeter

Has this been voted on already or will the voting take place this evening?

"In the High Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice George Birmingham said that specific vote should be re-taken by July 11, and awarded two-thirds of the costs of the proceedings to Mr O’Higgins."

It will be interesting to see how it goes. I think it will get the green light myself.

Cheshire Cat

TristanPeter wrote: »

Has this been voted on already or will the voting take place this evening?

The Council meeting will start at 4 pm. Should be a very interesting one!

TristanPeter

I'd nerarly book a place at it...if there's any space left as I'd love to see what goes on at controversial planning hearings.
http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/CouncilMeetings/

TristanPeter

Just booked a place at it.

snubbleste

TristanPeter wrote: »

Just booked a place at it.

Bring a notepad and pen and tell us how it goes.
I hope the project goes ahead as well.

padraig47

I hope so too. Was not impressed with chairing of meeting the other night. The chairman was from the only residents committee to oppose project. Why should that be ? I note that Highfield Park residents had a general meeting at which no decision was reached. I gathered (maybe incorrectly ?) that it was a committee meeting which unanimously agreed at Maunsell's Park. I note that alot of residents on Maunsells were in favoiur of project despite this decision.

Fey!

padraig47 wrote: »

I hope so too. Was not impressed with chairing of meeting the other night. The chairman was from the only residents committee to oppose project. Why should that be ? I note that Highfield Park residents had a general meeting at which no decision was reached. I gathered (maybe incorrectly ?) that it was a committee meeting which unanimously agreed at Maunsell's Park. I note that alot of residents on Maunsells were in favoiur of project despite this decision.

Considering the chaos which a few people tried to start at the begining of the meeting with the incorrect allegations of wrongdoing by the chairperson of the SHantalla Residents Association, I thought that the meeting was very well run.

It was made very clear that Maunsells Residents had voted at a general meeting to oppose the changes, where both Highfield and Shantalla were going into the meeting with an open view as neither had had a decision made at a general residents meeting.

It was also made clear that the site already has the correct plannig for a supermarket/shopping centre; the planning change is to ensure that the planning application goes direct to An Bord Pleanala and cannot be appealed by residents or, from my understanding of it, the council. This makes me wonder what the developer has in his mind to build that would cause such mass objection.

_Whimsical_

Fey! wrote: »

It was also made clear that the site already has the correct plannig for a supermarket/shopping centre; the planning change is to ensure that the planning application goes direct to An Bord Pleanala and cannot be appealed by residents or, from my understanding of it, the council. This makes me wonder what the developer has in his mind to build that would cause such mass objection.

This is correct and I'd agree it's a worrying move. It was also explained on the Keith Finnegan show today. I hear Katherine Connelly was very forceful in underlining how very unfair this was and how it's not in keeping with the intention of the planning laws which is that planning and zoning decisions be made with equal input fom the council, the developer and local communities. In this instance Mr O Huiginn intends to take these matters entirely out of the hands of the community living in the vacinity.It might be thought of as no big deal but really as Irish people we have already had a stark lesson in just how little developers care for the common good , it would be terrible to have another on our doorsteps.

snubbleste

City councillors have voted 8 to 7 in favour of the controversial rezoning of a site on the Rahoon/Seamus Quirke Road.