Galway City Council has approved plans for a hostel in Bohermore on the site of Tonery’s Bar after ordering it reduced in scale.
Plans were submitted to the council by Peadar Tonery March for the demolition of Tonery’s Bar and the adjoining garage in Bohermore, and the construction of a hostel and commercial unit on the large site.
The proposal was for hostel with 163 rooms, consisting of a building with three floors above ground level, and with a further two storeys below ground level.
The hostel will be smaller than these initial plans, as the city council ordered the developer to remove the top floor of the proposed building as a condition of the planning permission.
The council also ordered that brick cladding be used on the front and side elevations instead of the zinc cladding in the proposal.
Planning permission was granted by the city council with a total of 25 conditions attached.
There were a large number of public submissions received by the city council about this project, two thirds of which were letters of support.
Concerns were raised by the residents of Forster Court about losing pedestrian access to Bohermore, and that it would also bring a lot of people moving through the estate.
Objections were also raised about the excessive scale and plot density of the plans, and that without any parking provision it could lead to people parking in their estate.
Letters of support said that it would bring jobs to the area, and improve the social and commercial life of Bohermore.
