Land Development Agency launches plan for 750 homes on site close to Galway city centre

(Left to right) Brenda McGrath, CEO of Galway City Council, Cllr Clodagh Higgins, Mayor of Galway and John Coleman, chief executive at the Land Development Agency at the launch of The Sandy Quarter Draft Spatial Framework on Monday. Picture: Mike Shaughnessy / EXPOSURE.ie

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has officially launched plans for the €200m development of 750 homes on a 7.5 hectare site located close to Galway city centre with a public consultation.

The Sandy Quarter, as the LDA has dubbed the development, would see the mixed-tenure residences, which would include social and affordable housing, built on an industrial site and car park on Sandy Road in the city.

The site, situated just over a kilometre from the city centre, was included in the LDA’s recently published Report on Relevant Public Land which had designated the development as Class 2, or subject to “moderate” constraints, meaning the project would be unlikely to come to fruition for at least 10 years.

The projected cost of the development in the RRPL was between €179m and €221m for between 610 and 830 homes.

At present, the land is co-owned by the ESB and Galway City Council, with the ESB’s lands on the Sean Mulvoy Road part having been previously identified for transfer to the aegis of the LDA under the State’s Housing For All policy launched in September 2021. The new project is being developed in conjunction with the local authority.

The project’s vision for the site would see between 650 and 750 new homes, in buildings up to six storeys in height, constructed around an urban park. A six-week public consultation process will run until May 12. The LDA said it is “keen to hear from interested parties and stakeholders”.

A final version of the project framework for the site will publish later in 2023, the LDA said, on the back of feedback received during the consultation process, with subsequent steps involving the strategy required to obtain planning permission for the site.

(Left to right) Dearbhla Lawson, head of strategic planning at the Land Development Agency, John Coleman chief executive of the LDA, Mayor of Galway, Cllr Clodagh Higgins and Brendan McGrath, chief executive officer at Galway City Council at today's launch. A final version of the project framework for the site will publish later in 2023, the LDA said. Picture: Mike Shaughnessy / EXPOSURE.ie

John Coleman, the LDA’s chief executive, described the launch of the development as “another significant development” for the LDA. He said the project as outlined “involves an exciting vision for this land and serves as a guide to how it can be radically transformed from a brownfield site into a vibrant urban quarter”.

The city council has meanwhile committed to its lands being considered for redevelopment as part of the LDA’s plan with CEO Brendan McGrath describing the plans as potentially “transformative” and “a major catalyst for the future regeneration of adjoining areas”.

In publishing the RRPL last week, the LDA declared that there is the potential for the development of 67,000 homes on public land in Ireland, albeit less than 10,000 of those could be finished within the next five years.