An Bord Pleanála has upheld a decision to grant planning permission for a 60 bed nursing home in Salthill.
Approval was granted for the construction of four storey nursing home at the junction of Salthill Road Upper, Salthill Road Lower and Grattan Road next to Lenaboy park last August.
The site of the proposed nursing is currently occupied by the vacant Warwick Hotel, for which demolition approval has already been granted.
When completed it will have 60 bedrooms with surface car parking and a landscaped amenity area to the south of the site.
Other work to be done includes widening the entrance, altering pedestrian access points to make them more wheelchair accessible, and installing a security gate and improved boundary walls.
The development is projected to cost an estimated €6.7 million to construct.
When the city council granted permission last year it included 21 conditions including relocating the library in the design from the 1st floor to the ground floor.
It also ordered that the quantity and quality of open space in the design be significantly increased.
A third party appeal was lodged against the council’s decision, claiming that the land was not zoned for use as a nursing home, and that the plot density was greater than allowed on the site.
The appellant also submitted concerns about insufficient amenity space and the internal design of the nursing home.
Rushmany Nursing Homes Ltd submitted a response defending the design and arguing that the appeal should be dismissed, or that an oral hearing should be held.
An Bord Pleanála decided to hold an oral hearing on January 25 of this year at the Galway Bay Hotel, but the objector never showed up.
At the time legal counsel for the developer raised concerns about legitimacy of the appeal, noting that the objector’s name was spelled differently on multiple documents.
The Bord inspector recommended that approval be granted on the grounds that it is a “valuable community service” with good access to local amenities and public transport.
An Bord Pleanála granted approval with 15 conditions attached.
