Social amenities on the NW side of city

Mrs OBumble · 02-10-2018 6:01pm #1

With the upcoming demise of the Westwood - what social amenities are there on the NW side of city (or just ourside it)?

02-10-2018 9:41pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

With the upcoming demise of the Westwood - what social amenities are there on the NW side of city (or just ourside it)?

Depends on the what the definition is for a social amenity

Pub, cafe, shop, post office, playground, sports ground, gym, library, walks, etc etc

biko · 03-10-2018 10:17am

I didn't know Westwood had amenities but I suppose it had some function rooms etc
Dangan has sports activities anyway

What things are you looking for?

what_traffic · 03-10-2018 10:44am

Why restrict to this part of the City? Other area's have similar issues with lack of facilities.

Mrs OBumble · 03-10-2018 11:09am

what_traffic wrote: »

Why restrict to this part of the City? Other area's have similar issues with lack of facilities.

Feel free to start a thread about them.

The point of this thread is to demonstrate that there are lots of amenitites, even if they don't (all) serve alcohol.

Starting the list:

Glenlo Abbey hotel
Bushypark parish centre
Dangan nurseries cafe

what_traffic · 03-10-2018 11:16am

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Feel free to start a thread about them.

The point of this thread is to demonstrate that there are lots of amenitites, even if they don't (all) serve alcohol.

So this thread is just a response to the start of the demolition of the Westwood Hotel and to show the locals in Newcastle all the amenities that they have on there own doorstep?

youngrun · 03-10-2018 11:30am

what_traffic wrote: »

So this thread is just a response to the start of the demolition of the Westwood Hotel and to show the locals in Newcastle all the amenities that they have on there own doorstep?

Maybe the thread should consider the proper planning of an area
ie this case
Newcastle
Bushypark
Rahoon
etc
Quite a large area with c 10000 standing population + several large employers business parks and student block with a major dearth of social /meeting amenities

Social amenities for a lot of people are hotels, meeting rooms, bar/restaurants and or coffee shops ( Residents and workers in area )
maybe a couple of places for meetings but zero of the rest

Ditto sporting amenities in which much of the Dangan sports grounds will likely be wiped out given the N6 Bypass if planning secured

i know there are a couple mentioned but...Glenlo is very high end and not conducive to community, others tiny..

Place is fairly grim post Westwood/Glenoaks/Kelehans demises etc
wide open for a new amenity of social value

Kelehans again ?
Newcastle community centre?

ben.schlomo · 03-10-2018 12:31pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

what_traffic wrote: »

Why restrict to this part of the City? Other area's have similar issues with lack of facilities.

Feel free to start a thread about them.

The point of this thread is to demonstrate that there are lots of amenitites, even if they don't (all) serve alcohol.

Starting the list:

Glenlo Abbey hotel
Bushypark parish centre
Dangan nurseries cafe

If you knew there were lots of amenities, as you've just stated,then why start a thread asking what amenities are there!!

Mrs OBumble · 03-10-2018 7:28pm

ben.schlomo wrote: »

If you knew there were lots of amenities, as you've just stated,then why start a thread asking what amenities are there!!

When the Westwood's replacement was announced on the "Business opening and closing" thread, there was discussion about so-called social amenities in the area. It was - rightly - deleted as off-topic. So when the same "wahhh ... we haven't got a pub anymore" came up, I thought a separate thread would be a better idea to discuss it.

My list is FAR from complete. I'd like to see what others add - because it's not an area that know well. Other people know it far better than I do.

04-10-2018 8:13pm

The golf course in glenlo is pretty decent and it's not expensive to play there.

Sycamore Tree · 04-10-2018 9:43pm

The Westwood was a manky hotel with a ****e pub and crap food. It wont be missed.

The NW still have loads of amenities;

Running track in Dangan.
Soccer pitch in Dangan.
2 Rugby pitches in Dangan.
2 GAA pitches in Dangan.
Hockey pitch in Dangan.
River walks in Dangan. Many km of river walks with lovely forests too.
The River Corrib in Dangan - Great for swimming, boating, fishing, picnics etc

Is Westwide and Newcastle considered NW? Loads of cafes, shops, restaurants there. And a university with loads of same. A huge gym with a pool. Library in Westside and UCG. Indoor soccer hall and outdoor soccer pitches at Westside. Running track in Westside. GAA pitches in Westside.

Why am I even bothering with this stupid question?

The Lost Sheep · 04-10-2018 9:50pm

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

The Westwood was a manky hotel with a ****e pub and crap food. It wont be missed.

The NW still have loads of amenities;

Running track in Dangan.
Soccer pitch in Dangan.
2 Rugby pitches in Dangan.
2 GAA pitches in Dangan.
Hockey pitch in Dangan.
River walks in Dangan. Many km of river walks with lovely forests too.
The River Corrib in Dangan - Great for swimming, boating, fishing, picnics etc

Is Westwide and Newcastle considered NW? Loads of cafes, shops, restaurants there. And a university with loads of same. A huge gym with a pool. Library in Westside and UCG. Indoor soccer hall and outdoor soccer pitches at Westside. Running track in Westside. GAA pitches in Westside.

Why am I even bothering with this stupid question?

Sports facilities a plenty but if not a student there isnt really much on offer.
There is a lot more to social amenities beyond sport.

youngrun · 05-10-2018 9:32am

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Sports facilities a plenty but if not a student there isnt really much on offer.
There is a lot more to social amenities beyond sport.

Yes

Dangan is a fabulous amenity
BUT will lose close to half those facilities with a bypass and likely to be closed off for building works etc

There are a dearth of social amenities in the area otherwise

Westwood was a super meeting place, both for work and functions/ meetings , have been at numerous events held there over last 20 odd years and before. As was Kelehans for a long time also .

It is a shame and cause for concern if a major part of city loses a lot of its amenities and is not in my view good planning. Other areas generally have neighborhood centres which I think was part of city development plans

flazio · 05-10-2018 9:46am

Now by "social" do you mean "have a drink"?

Sycamore Tree · 05-10-2018 1:47pm

youngrun wrote: »

Westwood was a super meeting place, both for work and functions/ meetings , have been at numerous events held there over last 20 odd years and before. As was Kelehans for a long time also .

Westwood Hotel was a dump and I imagine it was running at a huge loss. It is one of the worst hotels in Galway even from a business perspective. The bar is terrible and the food is awful which is why most people in the IDA business park avoid it. Your employers must be hard pressed if they chose the Westwood for business events.

Kelehans went downhill rapidly before it closed. It expanded in the boom but the quality of service went to hell for a few years before it closed. I believe they were going to reopen it except that there was a death in the family and there are legal issues with the estate. Kelehans was only popular before drink driving laws were taken seriously.

Sycamore Tree · 05-10-2018 1:50pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Sports facilities a plenty but if not a student there isnt really much on offer.

Anyone can run/walk around the 7 Dangan sports pitches or running track. You don't have to be a student.

Bullocks · 05-10-2018 2:01pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Feel free to start a thread about them.

The point of this thread is to demonstrate that there are lots of amenitites, even if they don't (all) serve alcohol.

Starting the list:

Glenlo Abbey hotel
Bushypark parish centre
Dangan nurseries cafe

Where or what is the Bushypark parish centre ?

youngrun · 05-10-2018 4:06pm

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Westwood Hotel was a dump and I imagine it was running at a huge loss. It is one of the worst hotels in Galway even from a business perspective. The bar is terrible and the food is awful which is why most people in the IDA business park avoid it. Your employers must be hard pressed if they chose the Westwood for business events.

Kelehans went downhill rapidly before it closed. It expanded in the boom but the quality of service went to hell for a few years before it closed. I believe they were going to reopen it except that there was a death in the family and there are legal issues with the estate. Kelehans was only popular before drink driving laws were taken seriously.

I beg to differ.
Have been at business, social and various functions there over years at WW and it was always decent quality,good service and convenient

Gone now anyway and many people in area will miss them as a meeting place and social amenity etc is more my point

youngrun · 05-10-2018 4:08pm

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Anyone can run/walk around the 7 Dangan sports pitches or running track. You don't have to be a student.

Indeed, its a great community resource, all at the gift of the college. It would be a damn shame to see a dual carriageway through the middle of it

Mrs OBumble · 05-10-2018 4:27pm

Bullocks wrote: »

Where or what is the Bushypark parish centre ?

https://connachttribune.ie/residents-fail-prevent-go-ahead-new-pastoral-centre-404/

Possibly still under construction - there was building going on the last time i went past.

The article also notes that the school has a hall, and so does a local GAA club - yet more social amenities in the area.

Sycamore Tree · 05-10-2018 4:29pm

youngrun wrote: »

Indeed, its a great community resource, all at the gift of the college. It would be a damn shame to see a dual carriageway through the middle of it

Ah ok, I didn't realise you were anti-bypass. The bypass wont take up that much space - there is plenty around Dangan. The ring road is much more important but object away.

The Lost Sheep · 05-10-2018 4:43pm

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Ah ok, I didn't realise you were anti-bypass. The bypass wont take up that much space - there is plenty around Dangan. The ring road is much more important but object away.

The bypass takes up a few pitches and you havent been there too much on a busy day of games/training if you think losing the pitches they are wont cause many issues

youngrun · 05-10-2018 5:15pm

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

Ah ok, I didn't realise you were anti-bypass. The bypass wont take up that much space - there is plenty around Dangan. The ring road is much more important but object away.

It is merely a statement of fact. There will be several pitches and sports facilities impacted and the general parkland amenity impacted .And hence the general amenity of the NW area of the city hit.

The ring road is an important project given traffic logjams and vital at this stage of growth
Proper sports and recreational amenities are also a vital part of any city and areas within, especially given a Regional sports centre and Uni facility such as this

Compromise ?

Bullocks · 05-10-2018 5:26pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

https://connachttribune.ie/residents-fail-prevent-go-ahead-new-pastoral-centre-404/

Possibly still under construction - there was building going on the last time i went past.

The article also notes that the school has a hall, and so does a local GAA club - yet more social amenities in the area.

Construction only started a few weeks ago and will be going on for over a year , as far as I know the school hall is just used for the vote centre and the local GAA club wouldn't be using the hall either .

bobbyss · 08-10-2018 5:05pm

Sycamore Tree wrote:

Running track in Dangan. Soccer pitch in Dangan. 2 Rugby pitches in Dangan. 2 GAA pitches in Dangan. Hockey pitch in Dangan. River walks in Dangan. Many km of river walks with lovely forests too. The River Corrib in Dangan - Great for swimming, boating, fishing, picnics etc

Dangan for sure is great but I wouldn't be too keen to swim in the river. There are some signs warning against this by the jetty and (maybe?) opposite the castle. It has a current that is treacherous.

GalwayGrrrrrl · 08-10-2018 5:20pm

Definitely don’t swim in the Corrib at Dangan. The currents are very strong and power boats go along it too.

xckjoo · 09-10-2018 10:54am

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

Definitely don’t swim in the Corrib at Dangan. The currents are very strong and power boats go along it too.

Been swimming there my whole life and it's fine. Power boats is a bit of a overstatement. It's mainly the launches that accompany the rowers and a lot of them seem to be that catamaran type hull now. Currents in the middle can be fast moving, but it's usually fairly obvious when that happens and it mainly effects the middle of the river. Just stay towards the shore and you'll stay out of the current and the boat paths. To be doubly cautious about the currents, check if the weir gates are open and what the flow is like there and don't swim if you're in any doubt (true for any body of water).

I'm hugely disappointed the ring road will be cutting through this area. One of Galways hidden gems of a spot.

Sycamore Tree · 09-10-2018 11:46pm

xckjoo wrote: »

Been swimming there my whole life and it's fine. Power boats is a bit of a overstatement. It's mainly the launches that accompany the rowers and a lot of them seem to be that catamaran type hull now. Currents in the middle can be fast moving, but it's usually fairly obvious when that happens and it mainly effects the middle of the river. Just stay towards the shore and you'll stay out of the current and the boat paths. To be doubly cautious about the currents, check if the weir gates are open and what the flow is like there and don't swim if you're in any doubt (true for any body of water).

.

Yeah I have swam there since I was fairly young and while it's a powerful river, it's a lovely swimming river with little or no hidden dangers. Obviously you have to look out for rowers and the Corrib Princess but once you stay close to the shore, its fine. It gets deep fairly quick from the shore so I would advise only strong swimmers to enter at the pier across from Menlo Castle. I see the triathlon crews down there a lot.

bobbyss · 10-10-2018 7:01am

Sycamore Tree wrote:

Yeah I have swam there since I was fairly young and while it's a powerful river, it's a lovely swimming river with little or no hidden dangers. Obviously you have to look out for rowers and the Corrib Princess but once you stay close to the shore, its fine. It gets deep fairly quick from the shore so I would advise only strong swimmers to enter at the pier across from Menlo Castle. I see the triathlon crews down there a lot.

Is there a sign there opposite the castle saying no swimming or is that elsewhere? I'm sure I saw a sign somewhere. If there is a sign I am sure there are reasons for it?

Social amenities on the NW side of city

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