Galway City Council has given the green light for the opening of a new café in a vacant retail unit at Westside Shopping Centre.
Westside Shopping Centre Ltd has received planning permission for the change of use and associated renovation of Unit 5 out front.
The application states that the unit in question, which was most recently a laundry and dry cleaners, has experience “prolonged periods of vacancy” in recent years.
It also claims that there is “limited market demand for retail units at this location” and that having a café would bring “much needed life and animation” to the Seamus Quirke Road.
The intended occupant of the unit is Insomnia café and coffee shop chain, which first opened in Galway back in 1997.
Planning permission for the development was granted by the city council with four conditions attached.
The ground floor must only be used as a café, and not as a takeaway for the consumption of hot food off site.
However, this does not preclude outside dining in any external seating area which may be approved by the council.
The developer must also ensure that the premises is properly insulated for sound, and that any plant services are not so loud as to cause annoyance for neighbouring premises.
