Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Galway City Council’s relatively recent record of property transactions is not great.

And so, when the public learned last week that it – with joint owner Galway County Council – was planning to sell Galway Airport, there was understandable concern.

They’ve done damn all with the 118-acre site in Carnmore and have failed to produce a masterplan in the decade since they bought it off Galway Chamber.

But is selling this strategic land really the best option for the two Councils and for Galway’s future?

The City Council’s record on land for use by aircraft – or helicopters, to be more specific – is poor.

In 2013 the City Council lent community land in Shantalla to the HSE for a ‘temporary’ helipad for University Hospital Galway.

The land was borrowed for six months but 12 years on it still hasn’t been returned. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

An Taisce last week reminded everyone online of what the City Council did – or did not do – to Comerford House.

A protected structure, Comerford House at Fishmarket Square near the Spanish Arch, was donated to Galway Corporation (now City Council) by the Comerford family.

Formerly a museum, this historic house has been idle for over two decades, despite the city crying out for civic spaces.

Mutton Island Lighthouse, another so called ‘protected structure’, was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Photos obtained by this newspaper showed it was ‘suffering from neglect’ last year – slates falling off its roof; rusting railings; interior walls crumbling and cracking; broken windows; a damaged chimney; and collapsed ceilings.

Remember Lenaboy Castle in Taylors Hill? That pile was transferred to the City Council by the Sisters of Mercy as part of the 2009 Ryan Report settlement agreement for child abuse under the State Redress Scheme.

In 2017, the Council unveiled big plans to transform it into a ‘cultural hub’ for children, but it has been idle since. The cost of keeping it from falling down and for security, was draining Council resources.

The debacle over the Pálás arthouse cinema, which was a project delivered over-budget and delayed, was not the sole responsibility of the City Council but it did donate the site, and its part in that sorry saga is not over yet.

Don’t forget too that City Councillors voted to sell the Council’s interest in Royal Tara Hall, or ‘Mervue House’ in 2015. The Council, the freehold leaseholder, agreed to sell it to a developer for over €500,000.

Councillor Frank Fahy (FG) recalled that funding was to be ring-fenced for a new graveyard. But when Frankeen asked about it recently, there was silence. The ring-fenced money does not appear to have been ring-fenced at all; filed under ‘missing, presumed spent’.

Several years after it relinquished its freehold in that building in Mervue, the City Council entered a controversial deal – with no public consultation – to buy Crown Square, an office block down the road from Royal Tara, with a loan of €45.5m.

Delayed for over two years, we still don’t know the fit-out costs other than they will be much more than the original €11m budget.

So, Galway City Council plans to sell its stake in Galway Airport – what could possibly go wrong?

Pictured: Galway City and County Councils who jointly own the 118-acre former Galway Airport site at Carnmore are planning to sell it.