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Save Rusheen Bay from Rich People!

galvianlord

Have read in the Indo and the Advertiser about Cllr O'Brollchain's latest plans to save Rusheen Bay. Not quite sure why he is saving it from though....but according to his press release it seems to need saving from "rich people".

Like i know there's a riding school there and a windsurfing school too, but you cant even access the place at the best of times, I remember the Council had plans to extend the prom around the bay or the Lough as people seem to have taken to calling it but they have done feck all about it since.

If someone owns the land and gets to build a house there, what feckin business is it of his...as long as its built within regulations and according to permission shouldnt that be enough.

If it needs saving so much from rich people, shouldnt he also protect it from poor people too?? Surely greater public access would have a more detrimental impact on the conservation area than one man and his house? I think he's being a bit of a plank about the whole thing, like the green party base relies aon affluent middle class voters who can afford to be more environmentally conscious than the less affluent!

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cornbb

Just found the article in case anyone wants a look: http://www.galwayadvertiser.ie/content/index.php?aid=12243

Talk of housing developments and closing off access to the bay is worrying, although maybe he's just scaremongering. There's access by car and foot already, from Knocknacarra and Silverstrand. I'm against the idea of any sort of development around the bay, I think its accessible enough and would encourage people to go walking there. It really is a lovely spot, I windsurf there regularly. Its so serene.

In this article I don't see where he differentiates between rich and poor people in any way tbh. I'm not a fan of his but would agree with him in this regard.

Zzippy

I read the article, and it came across more as trying to protect the habitat and heritage of the area, and secondly to maintain access for all the public instead of it being restricted to a few living in gated communities.

Here it is for those who haven't seen it yet. Make your own mind up.

Is Galway’s earliest settlement buried under exclusive apartments? asks Ó Brolcháin

Kernan Andrews

Important archaeological and natural features in the Lough Rusheen area could be buried under a mass of concrete and turned into “a playground for the rich”, Green Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin has warned.

The Lough Rusheen area is an amenity zoned area, much loved by bird watchers, windsurfers, environmentalists, and the local community. The area also contains archaeological features that some believe may reveal the first human habitation in what is now the Galway city boundaries.

Part of this area is also a special area of conservation and contains mounds that are man-made but have not been properly archaeologically investigated to date.

According to Cllr Ó Brolcháin, much of this land has in recent years been acquired by a single developer, with extensive excavation works having been carried out, and a large road along the shoreline having been built which resulted in a number of mature trees being removed.

“After considerable pressure the very popular riding school on the land sold up,” said Cllr Ó Brolcháin. “There is now huge pressure on Ireland’s premier windsurfing school based in Lough Rusheen to close down and locals have expressed fears that if this comes to pass public access to Rusheen Bay will be closed off for good.

Cllr Ó Brolcháin said Lough Rusheen is “being systematically destroyed as an amenity area” but he has vowed to “resist tooth and nail any plans to destroy this beautiful area and sell it off as so called gated communities”.

He added: “I understand some councillors are in favour of this area being rezoned in future development plans and that greatly disappoints me. The number of green areas under threat in Galway city is staggering. Lough Rusheen must be protected.”

Cllr Ó Brolcháin currently has a motion before the Galway City Council to this effect.

biko

I hardly see poor people moving into that area with current house prices in the city and its proximity to the golf course.

According to Cllr Ó Brolcháin, much of this land has in recent years been acquired by a single developer, with extensive excavation works having been carried out

After considerable pressure the very popular riding school on the land sold up

There is now huge pressure on Ireland’s premier windsurfing school based in Lough Rusheen to close down

Classic stage one

Stage two, bully the city into giving you rights to build on the land you paid dearly for.

Fun unsubstantiated fact: there are more golf courses than kids playgrounds in Ireland.

cornbb

biko wrote: »

Stage two, bully the city into giving you rights to build on the land you paid dearly for.

Yeah, thats the crux of the matter... it would be a sin to allow housing developments on that shoreline or to cut off access to walkers etc. The sad thing is, given the integrity we've seen from certain city councillors, it isn't the unlikeliest thing on earth

snubbleste

He wants to save the bay from development. It's his business because he lives in the area and is an elected public representative.
You can see what happenend to Barna House(Demense), turned into exclusive gated apartments.

Planning rules and regulations don't mean that much in Galway, you can apply for permission to build X, build Y and apply for retention of Y which is generally granted eventually. Only those with wealth can afford to go down that route.

And if you'd read the entire Galway Independent, you'd find that the city council are going to build a coastal walkway from Blackrock to Silverstrand as a coastal defence measure starting later this year. http://www.galwayindependent.com/local-news/local-news/action-to-be-taken-to-save-galway-coastline-/

cornbb

snubbleste wrote: »

He wants to save the bay from development. It's his business because he lives in the area and is an elected public representative.
You can see what happenend to Barna House(Demense), turned into exclusive gated apartments.

Yep, and the back of these apartments (the side facing the bay) are fenced off meaning its not possible to walk the perimeter of the bay from the windsurf school to Silverstrand anymore.

And if you'd read the entire Galway Independent, you'd find that the city council are going to build a coastal walkway from Blackrock to Silverstrand as a coastal defence measure starting later this year. http://www.galwayindependent.com/local-news/local-news/action-to-be-taken-to-save-galway-coastline-/

Interesting... I guess they'll have to build a bridge or something over the channel between Rusheen bay and the sea.

galvianlord

private property is private property. if i owned a house down there the last thing i would want are aload of birdwatchers camping out in my backgarden. the article in yesterdays indo, has an interview with one landowners who has rubbished his claims, particularly with regard to the riding school which he says he has kept open, and although the land is substantial it seems to be used for a single dwelling so no housing estates there....so its a who to believe situation!

he differentiates by mentioning "playground for the rich" in the opening paragraph...

with regard to the independent article on the walkway, it was written in september of last year! nothing since then.....i'm all for it, but our elected representative as embodied by him seem to be shifting attention on local landowners to divert attention from what has been already promised by the council.

galvianlord

with regard to the walkway...

why on earth would you come around on the barna house side of rusheen....surely it would be make more sense to stay on the coast and circle gentian hill linking up with the prom on silverstrand.....why bring it inland?

snubbleste

The walkway will be along the coast not the lough.

Maybe we should persuade the city council to re-zone the area as residential and allow the whole land around Rusheen to be developed and become a gated area for those who can afford to live there..

cornbb

galvianlord wrote: »

with regard to the walkway...

why on earth would you come around on the barna house side of rusheen....surely it would be make more sense to stay on the coast and circle gentian hill linking up with the prom on silverstrand.....why bring it inland?

I didn't mean the walkway would be going around that side, I was pointing out that the housing development at Barna house has caused access issues - if it wasn't there it'd be possible to walk almost the whole perimeter of the bay at low tide.

As for landowners and birdwatchers, I think the place is far more valuable to Galway as a publically-accessible amenity (to birdwatchers, walkers, horse riders, windsurfers etc) than as a place that can only be accessed properly by those who could afford to build/buy a house there.

The way it is at the moment, it can be accessed by both rich and poor. The Councillor's argument appears to be that allowing housing development there would effectively cut off public access.

galvianlord

nope thats not what i am saying....

the council has promised to do something for some time now...

it hasnt done what it has promised...

if that area along the barna road does not impact on the access to rusheen, why make such a point about it...particularly if there is just going to be a single dwelling...

fair play to him for ensuring the conservation area is preserved but should he not be tackling his own officials for their inaction on the walkways and not for allowing the development of a single dwelling on that point in the first place...

barna house has been up and running for a few years now, so why criticise it at this point? i remember you could walk on the sands out there when i was a kid but surely you dont need to access the house to reach silver strand, just walk across the sands, or build a bridge as someone said earlier. finally people use the word gated as if its a bad thing...for me it means security...otherwise i'd leave the door of my apartment block open and let every bum in at night....

padi89

In all fairness i never saw one bird watcher down Rusheen in the 19 years i have gone down there.Then they go and build some concrete bird watching hides and all i see around them are empty cider cans.:rolleyes:I wouldn't build a house down there unless you don't mind putting up with gangs of teens bushin on your doorstep.They really fvcked the area when the development went ahead in the old caravan park, its really gone down hill ever since.

Zzippy

galvianlord wrote: »

nope thats not what i am saying....

the council has promised to do something for some time now...

it hasnt done what it has promised...

if that area along the barna road does not impact on the access to rusheen, why make such a point about it...particularly if there is just going to be a single dwelling...

fair play to him for ensuring the conservation area is preserved but should he not be tackling his own officials for their inaction on the walkways and for allowing the development of a single dwelling on that point in the first place...

barna house has been up and running for a few years now, so why criticise it at this point? i remember you could walk on the sands out there when i was a kid but surely you dont need to access the house to reach silver strand, just walk across the sands, or build a bridge as someone said earlier. finally people use the word gated as if its a bad thing...for me it means security...otherwise i'd leave the door of my apartment block open and let every bum in at night....

The word gated is a bad thing if it means that a public amenity is no longer accessible to the public, but only to those who live behind the gates. That's his point.

snubbleste

the article in yesterdays indo, has an interview with one landowners who has rubbished his claims, particularly with regard to the riding school which he says he has kept open, and although the land is substantial it seems to be used for a single dwelling so no housing estates there....so its a who to believe situation!

The council had to be asked to initiate proceedings against that same landowner last February.
"An injunction is being sought against a man in Knocknacarra who's believed to be developing his land without adequate planning permission." http://www.galwaynews.ie/2666-injunction-sought-against-knocknacarra-landowner

luckat

Private property is private property, yes. And amenities for everyone are also important.

It would be horrible if Galway went the way of Dublin, where beautiful green retreats were built over.

Take the case of the Green Hills, a long-forgotten paradise that was a beloved amenity for Dubliners in the 1930s.

There were smooth green hills - drumlins, I suppose - covered in a type of velvety grass seen nowhere else. Paths in the woodlands where you could wander and listen to birdsong and watch the butterflies flutter by. Streams bubbling by, trees arching over paths to make magical tunnels.

Then the builders discovered that the Green Hills were made of sand, and the trucks moved in. They hauled away all the sand, chopped the timber.

The long road leading out for part of the way, known as the Dark Lane because of the trees joining their branches over it, was cleared and built over, and renamed Sundrive Road.

The Green Hills were covered in ticky-tacky houses. The paradise is long gone, and Dubliners must go further out to look for woodland and wild land. Perhaps to Firhouse, where an area scheduled as amenity is being rapidly covered with nasty-looking houses and high-rise, high-intensity flats.

But of course, private property is private property.