Observation pack · Galway City Council
Retail Units A1/52 A2 & A3 at Galway Shopping Centre , Galway Shopping Centre , Headford Road
Permission for development which consists of: The Material Alteration, Change of Use from Retail to Restaurant and Amalgamation of 3no. existing ground floor retail units currently vacant: Unit A1/52 accessed off the external North West front elevation, Unit A2 & Unit A3 accessed off the external South West side elevation, to form a single Restaurant unit with 2no. access doorways on the external South West side elevation with internal modifications, new external shopfront signage and all associated works and service provision including an extract vent mounted on the shopping centre flat roof above the unit.
Observations close 6 Oct 2026 closes today
5 weeks from receipt (received 1 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 26 Oct 2026
The application
- Reference
- 2660320 · full record
- Authority
- Galway City Council
- Type
- PERMISSION
- Status
- NEW APPLICATION
- Applicant
- not published by the national dataset — see the council register
- Units
- 0
- Floor area
- —
- Site area
- 218 m²
- Received
- 1 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 18 Sept 2026, 15:44
- Decision due
- 26 Oct 2026
- Decision
- N/a
The national dataset truncates descriptions (80 characters for DLR, 70 for Fingal) and omits the applicant. The full description and the drawings are on the council register linked in step 1.
How to submit an observation
- Read the file on the council register.Drawings, planning statement and site notices are at http://www.eplanning.ie/GalwayCity/AppFileRefDetails/2660320/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2660320at the top, give your name and the address the authority should reply to, and confine it to planning matters — zoning objective, height, overlooking, traffic, drainage, heritage. What you say here is what you can later appeal on. - Pay the €20 fee.Every submission needs it; without it the observation is invalid and is returned. Galway City Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
- Submit before 6 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Galway City Council. The test is the date the authority receives it, not the date you post it.
- Keep the acknowledgement.The council's receipt is your proof of a valid observation — see below.
Statutory basis. Section 34(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) requires a planning authority to consider any submission or observation made to it in accordance with the Regulations. Article 29 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended) sets the window: a submission or observation must be received by the authority within five weeks beginning on the date of receipt of the application, and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee of €20. A submission received after the window, or without the fee, is invalid and the authority must return it.
After you submit: keep the acknowledgement. Under the 2024 Act it secures your right to appeal — only the applicant and a person who made a valid observation may bring the council's decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála, within four weeks of the decision. Making a valid observation is also what buys a right of appeal: under s.37(1) of the 2000 Act, only the applicant and a person who made a valid submission or observation to the planning authority may appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála (within four weeks of the decision). Missing the five-week window closes both doors.
What the site is zoned
| Code | Objective | Plan | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| C2.1 Economic development and employment | Enterprise Light Industry and Commercial: To provide for light industry and commercial uses other than those reserved in the CC zone | GI-001:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029 | 4 Jan 2023 → 4 Jan 2029 |
| C2.1 Economic development and employment | Enterprise Light Industry and Commercial: To provide for light industry and commercial uses other than those reserved in the CC zone | GI-002:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029-variations-1-2-3 | 4 Jan 2023 → 4 Jan 2029 |
An application that accords with the zoning objective is hard to resist on principle; one that does not may be a material contravention, which the council can only grant by the s.34(6) procedure with its own notice and window.
Sources: GALWAYCITY GI-001:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029, GALWAYCITY GI-002:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029-variations-1-2-3 · fetched 27 Sept 2026, 19:37
| Source | Licence | Fetched | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| GALWAYCITY GI-001:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029 | — | 27 Sept 2026, 19:37 | open |
| GALWAYCITY GI-002:DP:galway-city-development-plan-2023-2029-variations-1-2-3 | — | 4 Oct 2026, 23:04 | open |
Designations on or near the site
Nothing designated within 100 m of the site.
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2660283 | Refused | 29 Sept 2026 | 0 | 479 m | Permission for development which consists of: retention of the front elevation of the property which has been altered as part of a change of use from commercial use to a dwelling |
| 2660276 | Conditional | 23 Sept 2026 | 0 | 441 m | Permission for development which consists of: the development will consist of a modifications (Pl. Ref. 00/249) Reg. Ref.26/60087 & , The proposed development proposes to amend the permitted layout with the internalisation of and existing external area at ground floor area, comprising of an additional ground floor area absorbed in reception of 10.1sqm, with the additional floor area at first floor level (floor void having been removed) is 9.7sqm, new facade glazing and door to match existing (where entrance has been pulled forward in reception).Removal of double doors and provision of new single door (to match existing) at plant room area. Removal of double door opening and replacement with glazing to match existing (previous study room / new cinema room area) at ground floor level. Glazing to be fritted internally so as to minimise difference to external appearance. New window opening to top of stairs in previous games room / new study room area on first floor level. |
| 2560398 | Conditional | 9 Sept 2026 | 1 | 279 m | Permission for development which consists of: Fahy Monumental Works is applying for planning permission to amalgamate existing showroom area with part of the adjoining commercial unit at ground level, former Richard Walsh Cycles and for change of use of part of the ground floor and the existing repair workshop on the first floor to a three bedroom apartment including changes to elevations and necessary works |
| 2660146 | Conditional | 28 Aug 2026 | 0 | 490 m | Permission for development which consists of: 1. Retention permission to the rear of No’s 12-14 Prospect Hill (Mary Mullen’s Bar) and No. 8 Prospect Hill (Prospect House) of; • Provision of beer garden area within courtyard, covered with a glass canopy/roof, • Change of use and alterations to formerly vacant two-storey office/retail building to rear, to an ancillary bar. On the ground floor, this includes provision of bar areas, customer toilets, staff areas and keg store. The first floor consists of provision of ancillary bar storage. • Fire escape, steps and air conditioning units to rear. 2. Permission at No. 8 Prospect Hill (Prospect House) for; • Change of use at ground floor level from vacant betting office to restaurant and Café, together with internal ground floor connection to the adjoining Courtyard/ Beer Garden Area at Mary Mullens. • Change of use of first and second floors from vacant office space, to 32-bed tourist accommodation to complement the adjoining hospitality business at Mary Mullens. • Extension of glass canopy/roof to northern corner of existing beer garden. • Alterations to front elevation façade onto street (Prospect Hill), including revised fenestration, roof design, signage and shopfront details. • Alterations and revised fenestration to south-western side elevation, north-eastern side elevation and south-eastern rear elevation. • Removal of existing internal stairs and construction of single-storey extension to facilitate an additional fire escape route with steps to rear. • Revised treatments to rear boundary wall. • Construction of an internal access stairs to roof along with installation of PV panels and plant at roof level, together with all associated site works and services |
| 2660245 | Conditional | 28 Aug 2026 | 0 | 65 m | Permission for development which consists of: For a new prefabricated substation building within the existing Galway Shopping Centre car park to cater for 7no. electric car charging points for 12no. Electric car parking spaces along with all associated ancillary site works. |
| 2660222 | Conditional | 19 Aug 2026 | 0 | 284 m | Permission for development which consists of: applying to create a vehicular entrance & off-road parking area to the front of the property |
| 2660189 | Refused | 30 Jul 2026 | 1 | 432 m | Permission for development which consists of: (i) alterations to existing layout, (ii) construction of new extension to front, side and rear of existing dwelling, (iii) replacement of existing flat roof with new pitcher roof to include attic rooms, (iv) alterations to existing elevations and (v) all associated site works. A Natura Impact Statement is included as part of this application |
| 2560342 | Conditional | 8 Jul 2026 | 0 | 170 m | Permission for development which consists of: proposal to erect a new fenced external HVAC plant compound in the service yard of Currys Galway to house new air handling unit complete with 3 No. top mounted external condensing units. Works as part of the upgrade and decarbonisation of the store's heating, ventilation and air conditioning - removing the end-of-life internal gas-fired air handling units and existing external condensers. |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501865 | — | pending | 10 Aug 2026 | 432 m |
| 501778 | — | open | 27 Jul 2026 | 166 m |
| 501206 | — | pending | 22 Apr 2026 | 299 m |
| 501194 | — | Invalid | 21 Apr 2026 | 299 m |
| 322166 | — | Granted with conditions | 3 Oct 2025 | 181 m |
| 323550 | — | open | 3 Sept 2025 | 61 m |
| 319670 | — | Granted with conditions | 22 Aug 2025 | 262 m |
| 320938 | — | Granted with conditions | 12 Mar 2025 | 466 m |
If neighbours here have appealed before and lost, the inspector's report on that case is the single most useful thing to read.
What has happened on this file
- 1 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 6 Oct 2026
- 1 Sept 2026 Decision
Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 18 Sept 2026, 15:44. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Galway City Council before relying on it.