Planning permission has been granted for a new leisure centre by converting a former driving range in Salthill.
Clearwater Ventures Ltd has been given the green light to create yoga and gym facilities, as well as a new café and retail area in the former driving range..
Other construction work will involve enclosing the driving range bays with windows and doors, and building an external sauna and decking.
Galway City Council refused planning permission for the proposed leisure centre in September of 2022.
The council said that the planned use would contravene the RA zoning of the site, which is “primarily for outdoor recreation”, and that the developer had not shown that the plans wouldn’t prejudice the objective of a greenway/cycle network in the development plan.
In the appeal, Clearwater said that the leisure centre was not a substantial change from its previous use, as the driving range was primarily based indoors, and that it would bring a vacant building back into use.
It also said that the proposed development would not result in an increase in traffic compared with the site’s previous usage.
An Bord Pleanála’s inspector recommended that planning permission be refused based on the RA zoning of the site, in line with Galway City Council’s decision.
“The use of this building as a standalone leisure and wellness facility with no functional relationship with any outdoor recreational use of the remainder of the lands zoned RA, which were last used, along with the building, as a golf driving range.”
“Accordingly, the use of the building now envisaged would neither be an outdoor recreational use, nor would it support such a use, and so it would materially contravene the RA zoning objective for the site.”
However, the board decided to overrule the inspector’s recommendation and grant permission for the development, subject to eight planning conditions.
The board said that, “The proposed and existing development to be retained would continue the nature of the existing and permitted development, in accordance with the zoning objective for the area.”
No changes are proposed for the car parking provision on site, but the developer intends to add 22 bicycle parking spaces.
