Clifden Regeneration – 1st Round of Feedback – Connemara Chamber of Commerce
Letter and related documents to Galway County Council
Connemara Chamber Commence
Platform 6, Galway Road, Clifden,
Connemara, Co. Galway, H71 VH51
Mr Ciaran Wynne – [email protected]
Galway County Council, Aras an Chontae,
Prospect Hill, Galway
26th July 2023
Re: First round of public feedback on the Clifden Regeneration Plans
Dear Ciaran,
On Thursday 7th July 2022, Connemara Chamber of Commerce hosted a Clifden town meeting regarding the concept plans for Clifden. The purpose of the meeting was to both present the current design concepts and to engage in a discussion regarding the same.
The meeting was independently chaired by Dr. Kevin Heanue, Chairperson of Connemara West.
Presentation
We made a short presentation on the Clifden Regeneration plans covering the Clifden Harbour Park, The Beach Road Quay Area and Clifden Town Centre.
In-person Survey
At the end of the meeting, a short survey was carried out to get feedback from the towns people. Please find attached/enclosed the results of the survey.
Sentiment
The overall sentiment of the meeting is that the Clifden Regeneration Project is hugely welcomed and is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Clifden. The Beach Road plans have gone down well. For the Harbour Park, there are some changes that would enhance the plans which no doubt you will have seen from feedback you have received already. On the Town Centre plans, the overall feeling is that further discussion on these would be welcomed along with consideration of an overall parking strategy for Clifden.
A need for wider footpaths, breakout spaces and reduction of parking was acknowledged. However the scale of reduction of on-street parking (see our assessment enclosed) with no mitigation is a major cause of concern due to the negative impact it will have on year-round business.
Sub-Committee
Since our town meeting and presentation, the Chamber have formed a Clifden Regeneration Sub-Committee. The purpose of this committee is to bring constructive suggestions to you and the design team for the future plans for Clifden, focusing for now in particular on car parking solutions. The sub-committee met today (26/7/2022) and are actively working on tangible suggestions to enhance the general plans.
We understand that feedback will have already been submitted through the official public consultation process. We hope that our survey results will supplement this.
There are several suggested amendments to the plan that we would like to propose to you and the team. We welcome an opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience.
Yours Sincerely,
John Sweeney
President – Connemara Chamber of Commerce
Encl.
• Changes to Parking – assessment – 7.7.2022
• Copy of presentation made on 7.7.2022
• Copy of Survey and results conducted 7.7.2022
• Copy of radio Transcription 7.7.2022
• (Copy of this letter) – Letter to Ciaran Wynne – Galway County Council – 26 July 2022
