All is not well in Tuam

Katunga

Das Kitty wrote: »

Hey, Katunga, can you provide a link to where you got that (if it's the county council site or whatever)?

I got it from in a e-mail from Galway CoCo

Katunga

Here is what they sent me:

A Chara,

I refer to the above and wish to inform you that a Warning Letter was issued to:

Joseph & Helen
O'Toole
Dublin Road
Tuam
Co Galway
O.T. Investments
Limited
Bishop Street
Tuam
Co Galway




Please see attached for your information.

Mise le meas,

Planning Enforcemen

Greaney

Thank you for posting that. I've been following this thread and I was begining to find the whole thing depressing (thinking about what happened in Knocknacarra regarding the Joyce development). Good to hear they're being taken to task. It does need the vigilance of the local community to stay on top of these things because in fairness, if we all just spent our time online just cribbing, and didn't actually follow through, these fella's would get away with murder;)

bagels

Greaney wrote: »

Thank you for posting that. I've been following this thread and I was begining to find the whole thing depressing (thinking about what happened in Knocknacarra regarding the Joyce development). Good to hear they're being taken to task. It does need the vigilance of the local community to stay on top of these things because in fairness, if we all just spent our time online just cribbing, and didn't actually follow through, these fella's would get away with murder;)

Despite receiving the warning notice, the developer did more work on the site yesterday evening. Hows that for contempt for the law?

Looks like we'll have to take out a section 160 injunction against him next.

Its very worrying that the Council are continuing their efforts to extinguish the right of way for the benefit of the developer, despite the developer being investigated by the very same Council for several breaches of planning laws and the roads act. Any reasonable person would expect the process of extinguishment to be suspended/deferred pending the completion of the investigation. What are the Council playing at?

The facebook group page "Restore Our Palace Road" contains all the relevant information to date.
Thanks again for the support everybody.

ScumLord

bagels wrote: »

Despite receiving the warning notice, the developer did more work on the site yesterday evening. Hows that for contempt for the law?

I hope you've been taking pictures? He's probably trying to rectify the problems in such a way as to nullify some of the points so he can then say "sure half the things they made a complaint about aren't there at all". Unless the court has evidence to the contrary he may get off with some of it.

Katunga

ScumLord wrote: »

I hope you've been taking pictures? He's probably trying to rectify the problems in such a way as to nullify some of the points so he can then say "sure half the things they made a complaint about aren't there at all". Unless the court has evidence to the contrary he may get off with some of it.

plenty of photos on Facebook.
over 2600 members of the group.
Keep showing your support.

Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/467382686607253

ScumLord

Katunga wrote: »

Keep showing your support.

I'm following this for the entertainment value. Neither side has my support, I'm an out of towner.

serfboard

From The Tuam Herald:

The Tuam Herald wrote:

A CAMPAIGN to retain a public right of way in Tuam received the unanimous backing of Tuam Town Council at a meeting this week.
Mayor of Tuam Cllr Eamonn Kitt convened the meeting at the Town Hall on Monday evening at the request of the Restore Our Palace Road campaign.
The road has been replaced by a new access road and supermarket car park in recent months, by businessman Joe O’Toole, who has planning permission for a major retail development on the site.
However, economic conditions have meant the development has been postponed and Mr O’Toole has used the land to increase car parking alongside his Super Valu store.

ScumLord

serfboard wrote: »

From The Tuam Herald:

The councillors have basically said Joe should do what his already done. Allow access.

I think Joes move to open up the road before any of this hit the fan has worked out in his favour, the secret nods have been nodded and I think officially that will be the end of it.

serfboard

From Galway Bay FM:

Galway BAY FM wrote:

A group campaigning to have a road and right of way restored at a Tuam supermarket car park walked out of a meeting of the town council last night [Sept 3]. The demonstration by members of the 'Restore Our Palace Road campaign' was made when area county councillors were not present.

After the group walked out, the meeting was told by Director of Service Frank Gilmore that Tuam Town Council had no role in the matter.

The group, campaigning regarding an expansion at O’Toole’s Super Valu car park expressed annoyance with Mayor Eamonn Kitt and said they were told last week that the area Councillors would be invited to the meeting. But Director of Services Frank Gilmore said the Town Council had “no statutory role whatsoever” in the matter and the entire County Council must agree on such issues and not just the 7 county councillors for the Tuam area.

He also said that as an enforcement order had been issued to the developer regarding an “alleged breach of planning” it was now a “quasi legal process” and no council official can make any further comment on it. He said the delegation could contact the chair of the area County councillors and make a 15 minute submission to them at a meeting. The protocol was that they had to leave after making their submission and could not engage in discussions with the Area Councillors.

Before the end of the meeting a letter was handed in by the group expressing their annoyance that the Area Councillors were not invited to meet them last night. Cllr Imelda Kelly proposed that if the area councillors met the delegation the town council chamber should be made available and the Mayor and members agreed. If not, the Director of Services said they could arrange to meet with the area councillors at their next meeting and make their submission then.

Shakti

Local Business man destroys public roads, trees etc. gets given land on a promise (which he reneges on but keeps the land and does what suits him with it), has blocked and continually blocks development and investment in tuam in favour of his own monopoly, how is this man not in prison along with anyone else who facilitated him and his actions.

the way it was before it was destroyed.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=palpace+rd,+tuam&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1570&bih=916&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

confuseddotcom

I know one could say it's his road to do what he likes with, but I've seen people having to walk their dogs in around the parking-lot like! Well it is footpathed but still, they are walking their dogs in a fricking car-park!

rentarant

It’s just not good enough!
Not only is what has been ‘built’ at the new car-park in Tuam ugly, out of scale and unwelcoming with its steel fences, metal crash barriers and looming ticketing machines but the inner relief is a total botch.
The new road is badly designed. Junctions at the Shop Street end and at the bridge into the Palace Grounds are unfit for purpose, the footpaths are too narrow, there is no provision for cyclists, and the chain link and concrete-posted fences are horrible,.
The unholy destruction of historic old walls and archaeological artefacts, together with the vicious removal of healthy mature trees and shrubs makes me sick.
The snide, underhand dealings that has gifted plots of public land to the developer have all the marks of the culture of brown envelope back-handers, while the rushed and unauthorized nature of the works carried out are a sign that everyone involved knew exactly the unlawlul what they were doing.
The issue of the removal of the Right of Way has been covered by an active interest group in the town, but the news that the developer spends his leisure time hob-nobbing with other wealthy developers in their NAMA-proof private enclave in Taylors Hill while looking for sympathy in the local press, and claiming to be a victim in all of this is just funny.
What is not funny is that Galway County Councillors and officials are now saying privately that because ‘mistakes have been made’ during this process, AND because the coffers of the Galway Co.Co. are empty the people of Tuam will just have to put up with this whole sorry mess, just as it is.
It is not good enough.

jesusman

The Developer has been issued with an Inforcement Notice

ScumLord

rentarant wrote: »

It’s just not good enough!
Not only is what has been ‘built’ at the new car-park in Tuam ugly, out of scale and unwelcoming with its steel fences, metal crash barriers and looming ticketing machines but the inner relief is a total botch.

I just don't see it that way, as car parks go it's a nice one. Crash barriers make perfect sense when you're mixing people and cars and I don't know what else they could make the barriers out of, steel is the only proper option.

I don't understand how people think they can have all the modern amenities while objecting to all the modern amenities being built. Old stone walls can be lovely but for the most part they're unsafe, mostly ignored and covered in muck and weeds.

Mars Bar

Nobody was asking for a car park though. It was supposed to be a fancy shmancy shopping development.

The road should have been left as it was.

ScumLord

He wanted to make a shopping development and it fell through, that's not too surprising given the economic climate. Now it's an amenity for the town. I use that car park all the time and do more than go into supervalu. For people outside Tuam it's the only proper parking in town.

At the end of the day, if it's his land he can do what he likes with it. Planning permission considered and all that.

Mars Bar

It's not his land though. I thought that was the problem? Apart from it being dangerous of course...

What happened at the council meeting last night. Did they extinguish the right of way?

Mars Bar

They are waiting 3 weeks before taking a vote on it.

rentarant

Thanks Scumlord, it is interesting to read your perspective. you might find something of interest in this short video that shows things from a slightly different angle.
http://youtu.be/94pk4Aoo-PE

ScumLord

Mars Bar wrote: »

It's not his land though. I thought that was the problem? Apart from it being dangerous of course...

Is it that dangerous though? On one post we're complaining about ugly crash barriers on the next we're saying it's dangerous.

As someone who's outside of Tuam and impartial I don't see the problem. I go to Tuam shopping and it can be a real pain finding parking, I've gotten tickets for stopping outside Tuam hardware. For someone like me that goes to Tuam to spend money the car park was needed, I've never viewed the new road as a link road and wouldn't really use it as such unless I'm going into Supervalu or going to the bottle bank. With the new road people have 3 ways of accessing the school/supermarket and swimming pool.

The entrance to the swimming pool going onto the bridge is too narrow as it is and should be upgraded because you can't turn into it safely if a car is waiting to come out but other than that you have two paths where there was one.

Nobody can undo the work that was done so the best course of action is to make the current setup more usable. That could be achieved with speed ramps inside the car park to slow cars down and by widening the entrance to the swimming pool. There should be zebra crossing to give walkers right of way.

Like I said at the beginning I had a friend working on the job and he went to the Tuam herald and tried to get people to stop them knocking trees as he has a thing for old trees and hates to see them knocked but he was ignored at that point and now after the fact when it's too late to act everyone's up in arms.

The legality of the work is a separate issue in my mind, but making what's there workable doesn't seem to be on the agenda, people seem to want to see the developer punished rather than fix the problem.

rentarant

all the info you might want is here
http://www.facebook.com/groups/467382686607253/

G'luck now

ScumLord

rentarant wrote: »

all the info you might want is here
http://www.facebook.com/groups/467382686607253/

G'luck now

there's no information at all just angry posts. It's the equivalent of a chain letter with people asking to share and like their posts.

I still don't see how restoring the road is going to be any better because it can't really be done, no one's going to be able to pay for it and even if it happens it'll be surrounded by derelict space.

serfboard

From The Tuam Herald:

The Tuam Herald wrote:

A COMPROMISE is expected regarding the Palace road and the transfer of lands at Bishop Street, Tuam after councillors deferred a decision of the matter for a month after a marathon meeting of Galway Co Council on ­Monday.

Discussions on the Tuam Inner Relief Road, the transfer of lands at the car park and extinguishment of a right-of-way went on for over three hours at the meeting and after two adjournments, during which round table private discussions took place, it was proposed by Cllr Michael Connolly, Chairman of the Tuam Electoral Area, seconded by Cllr Jimmy McClearn, that a final decision be deferred until the November meeting.

cyberblade 918c

ScumLord wrote: »

Is it that dangerous though? On one post we're complaining about ugly crash barriers on the next we're saying it's dangerous.


thing is though .. there was a protest organised in a council car par right beside the developers premises. At the time the protest was organized ... there was no footpaths, no safety barriers, no safety railings,no zebra crossings and even the road way around was so poorly marked that cars used to just drive through empty car parking spaces which was highly dangerous. as soon as the protest was organised .... then BANG, almost over night - all these safety measures appeared.

As well as that - before the protest group gained momentum, the developer was blocking all access to the car park and the road way through it by means of automatic security barriers (bear in mind this is still a public right of way)

There has been a lot of change because of the protest group...

ScumLord

cyberblade 918c wrote: »

There has been a lot of change because of the protest group...

That's true I noticed the changes and they are certainly an improvement. Maybe the people in charge are saying lets shot for the moon but I think there seems to be people whipped up into a frenzy and just want the bad guy punished.

I just don't see what exactly is going to be the alternative, rip up the car park and plant some new trees? Take down all the signs going into Tuam asking people to stop and shop in Tuam because they're advertising all the handy car parking spaces people will find if they stop.

Shakti

ScumLord wrote: »

rip up the car park and plant some new trees?

Yes at the very least,
Tuam already has a multi storey car park plus several other car parks plus on the street parking the last thing Tuam needed was another car park.

Mars Bar

Between the Shambles car park, Joyce's car park, the Church car park and O'Toole's pre-existing car park, I honestly thought there was enough car parking.

Proxy

Mars Bar wrote: »

Between the Shambles car park, Joyce's car park, the Church car park and O'Toole's pre-existing car park, I honestly thought there was enough car parking.

Sure it's Tuam; people's general opinion tends to be if you can't park right beside it, it's "out of the way" :rolleyes: