Planning permission has been refused for a massive extension to the Victoria Hotel in Galway City just beside Eyre Square.
An application was made by Byrne Hotel Management to demolish the existing warehouse, restaurant and associated buildings next to the Victoria Hotel, which is located just south of Eyre Square.
In its place, they sought to build a 10 to 11 storey extension to the existing hotel adding 109 additional guest bedrooms. This was later reduced to 8 to 9 storeys in height, incorporating 91 new bedrooms, after the city council expressed concerns about the scale in this location.
Other works in the project were to include a seating area and bar on the ground floor and first floor/mezzanine, along with another rooftop bar and lounge.
Alterations would also have been made to the premises of Victoria House on the same street to form part of the extended hotel, with new conference facilities.
CIE objected to the development as they said the developers have not consulted with them, and do not have the requisite property interests to carry out the extension.
Their objection states that the plans seemed to assume a shared access arrangement onto CIE lands to the rear of the hotel and that such access would be needed to build the extension and to use the subsequent loading bay.
Planning permission was ultimately refused by the city council, which said that it was not satisfied that the project would not have environmental impacts on the Galway Bay protected area, or that surface water could be properly disposed of.
Another major reason given for rejecting the project was the potential traffic impact it would have in a city centre area, both during construction and when the hotel extension was operational.
The council said that this “key transport route”, located at the corner of Queen Street, is “not amenable to road closures or lane closures” during construction, which would be reliant on the public road.
The rejection also states that the hotel would be overly reliant on the public roadway for deliveries and other operations, which would interfere with the free flow of traffic.
A letter submitted with the planning application states that the Victoria Hotel is a boutique style venue, mainly for short-stay guests who prize convenience.
“Most guests that visit Victoria Hotel arrive into Ceannt Station by train or bus, walk to the Victoria Hotel, check in, visit the bars then go out and wander the city centre”.
It added that there is a growing demand for short breaks in Galway and that this hotel is ideally placed due to its location close to public transport and car parking options.
The existing Victoria Hotel is a six-storey building, on Queen Street off Eyre Square, with 150 bed spaces and a bar/restaurant on the ground floor.
The owners have been steadily buying up the neighbouring properties on the street since 1999 with the goal of expanding the hotel.
“The design of the proposed development has sen
