Planning permission is being sought for Galway Fire Service to retain temporary offices and parking spaces at the Fire Station in Galway City.
The county council, as operator of the Fire Service, is seeking permission to retain offices to the rear of the fire station and seven parking spaces out front.
This is the latest in a long series of temporary permissions sought for the facilities after attempts to find a site for a new station have failed for years.
“Although the temporary office accommodation was originally granted permission for a fixed period of time, we seek to retain these offices for a further duration,” the application states.
It goes on to say that, “when permission was previously granted for the temporary accommodation, it was envisaged that Galway Fire Service would be building a new fire station at a different location in the city”.
The Fire Service are therefore “not in an immediate position” to vacate the existing site.
“A number of sites are undergoing feasibility studies and we would hope to expedite the relocating process in the coming years.”
The last retention permission for these facilities was granted in June 2014, for a period of five years, and they have been operating without planning approval for more than a year now.
When the last retention application was granted, with four conditions attached, and “Informative” post script was added to the permission, warning that another such application “may not be considered favourable”.
This was because the “cumulative number of years for which temporary permissions have been granted far exceeds what would normally be considered temporary”.
The council also noted at the time that “the nature and impact of the works are such that a permanent grant of planning permission would not normally be considered”.
Galway City Council is due to decide on whether to grant yet another five year retention permission for these offices by September 8.
