Galway City Council had given a 999-year lease for the use of the Ballybane Community Centre — but had no say in how it was run, it has emerged.

Several councillors have complained that some members of the community have lost access to the facility.

Cllr Declan McDonnell (Ind) recalled that the Council had issued a lease dating back to 1998 for the building, but nobody seemed to have a copy of it.

“Why can that body dictate who has access to it. It’s a City Council-owned building. If the lease doesn’t have clauses in it to allow community access to it, we made a mistake,” he exclaimed.

Cllr Alan Cheevers (FF) said the problem with Ballybane was that there were “too many groups who are too fragmented and can’t come together and that’s why we can’t get progress”.

“They have to put personalities aside,” he urged.

Cllr Shane Forde (FG) demanded to know who sat on the board of management of the company which leased the building.

Director of Services for Project Development, Derek Pender, said the Council had built the building and retained freehold ownership of it, but had handed over management to a board of directors in Ballybane Community Development Ltd under a 999-year lease.

“The Council has no direct role in usage or access or management. I do get the frustration of the members. I promise to get hold of the lease to assess what entitlement we have,” he told the meeting.

In a separate discussion about littering, officials were asked to address the issue of frequent dumping outside an estate in Ballybane.

The IBAL (Irish Business Against Litter) survey found that Ballybane Village and Ballybane Industrial Estate continued to be two litter blackspots and blighted Galway’s otherwise good performance in the national league.

Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) asked that the management of the industrial estate could be contacted about litter pick-ups as it was disheartening for all the hard work being put in by the community in Ballybane to keep their area clean.

Cllr Mike Cubbard (Ind) said he had seen no improvement and had images from the area of just that morning where bags of rubbish had been dumped at the entrance of Fana Glas.

“It’s absolutely disgusting. Nappies, parts of beds. We (the Council) simply come along and pick it up then we come in here and blame the industrial estate. I pass it every single day with my kids to school and it’s always the same,” he fumed.

Cllr Helen Ogbu (Lab) said if the Council continued to pick up rubbish at blackspots it would continue to be dumped.

“What are we doing to deter them? What about the possibility of CCTV? In front of a Council tenant’s house is where they dump the refuse. She’s losing it – this is somebody whose mental health is impacted.”

City Chief Executive Leonard Cleary said the environment teams were as active as they can be trying to catch the culprits but it was ultimately an individual responsibility not to litter.

Pictured: 999-year lease: Ballybane Community