The way has been cleared for the construction of a 131-bedroom nursing home on the site of the former Warwick Hotel in Salthill

The decision of Galway City Council to grant planning permission for the four-storey development has been affirmed by An Coimisiún Pleanála (formerly An Bord Pleanála).

And a senior planning inspector also rejected a suggestion from the company behind the nursing home that an appeal, which has stalled the project for the past four months, was made with the sole intention of delaying it.

City planners gave the go-ahead in February this year for the development, on a site encompassing the area where the former Warwick Hotel stood, along with the site of the former Oasis nightclub, a former small shop unit and two semi-detached houses. All of the buildings have been demolished

Initially, Bartra Property (Galway NH) Limited had sought to build a 154-bedroom nursing home, part four-storey, part five-storey, on the 1.3-acre Upper Salthill site, but in the face of concerns raised by city planners and local residents, it scaled back the plans, reducing the nursing home to four storeys only and cutting bedroom numbers by 23.

The granting of planning permission was challenged in an appeal to An Bord Pleanála by Andrei Stefanescu, with an address in Roscam on the east of the city, who said that his main difficulty with the planning application was “the total lack of adequate parking” for visitors, staff and service vehicles.

He feared that the facility, due to its proximity to Galway University Hospital would also become a step-down facility for patients discharged from hospital, resulting in an increased volume of visitors.

“It would lead to utter chaos, especially during peak visiting times,” he claimed.

The facility would cater for residents from Connemara, Galway County, Mayo and Roscommon, with a large percentage of visitors travelling by car.

“If this facility proceeds in its current form, there will be traffic chaos and it will result in illegally parked cars everywhere.”

Mr Stefanescu also objected on the basis of the development’s “excessive” height and scale and claimed it had squeezed too many bedrooms in without considering staff facilities.

“The development of a nursing home is welcome on this site, but it is totally unsuitable at the scale and density proposed,” his submission added.

But Senior Planning Inspector Ian Boyle, is his report to the Board of An Coimisiún Pleanála, concluded that the proposed development was acceptable in terms of its height, size, scale and density, and that it was consistent with relevant local and national planning policies and objectives.

He was satisfied that proposed number of car parking spaces was appropriate and in accordance with the provisions of the Galway City Development Plan 2023-2029.

“I note that the applicant [Bartra], as part of their response, requested an oral hearing. The purpose of this, they state, would be to allow the appellant to set out their concerns in person and for the Board / Inspector to ascertain if the appeal had been made with the sole intention of delaying the application – which they contend it was.”

However, Mr Doyle said that an oral hearing would not be necessary in this case, and that the issues raised could be dealt with adequately through written procedures.

“Furthermore, I note that the grounds of appeal set out relevant planning issues. Therefore, there is no basis to conclude that the sole intention of the appeal is to delay the development, as alleged by the applicant, and that this should warrant an oral hearing to be held on this basis.”

The board of An Coimisiún Pleanála accepted the inspector’s recommendation and granted planning permission, subject to a number of conditions.

Pictured: The original design of the proposed nursing home included a fifth storey, which has been removed from the plans.