Senior council officials confirm Tuam Palace road was part of legally binding development deal

By TONY GALVIN A SENIOR official at Galway Co Council has stated emphatically that the body entered into a legally binding agreement with Tuam businessman Joe O'Toole to swap their public car park (opposite the Cathedral of the Assumption) and the Palace road, and to extinguish the right of way in exchange for the land to build Tuam's new inner-relief road. At a meeting of Galway Co Council on Monday the Director of Service, Water, Environment, Community, Enterprise & Economic Development Unit, Jim Cullen, also insisted he had clearly explained this process to all the Tuam Area Councillors and they had all supported it, as had the full council. He suggested Cllr Shaun Cunniffe, who is leading a campaign of opposition to the deal, check the minutes of the meetings at which he had agreed the plan.[private] The issue was not on the agenda for Monday's meeting but Cllr Cunniffe took the opportunity to raise the Tuam issue when an unrelated item regarding the disposal of public lands was raised. He insisted the issue of the disposal of the Palace road had not been discussed adequately at any level and he felt disempowered by this. The Mayor ruled the matter out of order but allowed Cllr Cunniffe to revisit the matter during Mayor's business (AOB) at the end of the meeting. When the matter was raised under AOB, Cllr Cunniffe said that last week the public was informed by a local paper (The Tuam Herald) that there was a legal agreement regarding a land swap between the council and developer. He said he was fully aware of a Section 183 (the section of the Local Government Act which deals with the transfer of public property). He had been involved in discussions on the matter at a Local Area meeting prior to the regular meeting of the Co Council on May 23, 2011, which was held in Killimor. (The press are not permitted to cover Local Area meetings, only full meetings of the council.) Cllr Cunniffe stated that on September 10 last he had specifically asked if the deal involved the Palace Road and had been told by an official 'Not as far as I know of'. He said it was a reserved function of the elected members to deal with issues where public land was transferred to a private party. He acknowledged that the car park had been part of the deal but insisted he had no knowledge of this public road being included. He stated the road and the right-of-way are public property. A legal agreement to get rid of this road clearly compromised the council. This is putting the cart before the horse. People don't want to lose the road and it would cause difficulties if the council set their face against this, he said. Director of Services Jim Cullen said that it was important to put the facts on the record. At a meeting in Killimor on May 23, 2011, Galway Co Council unanimously decided to dispose of the road in question and the council-owned car park. Both properties were clearly marked on the map presented to the councillors on the day. The details were explained by him in a precise manner. He explained that the council had entered into a legally binding agreement on the inner-relief road. 'A very important fact seems to have been forgotten in all this. The only opportunity to build that road was then, not now, as part of the Tuam Main Drainage Scheme. The council realised the potential and made the decision to facilitate the inner-relief road, to be followed by the extinguishment of the public right of way.' Cllr Cunniffe insisted he had not seen the full details of the Section 183 deal and that he would have been vehemently against the proposal if he had. Jim Cullen insisted that all the details had been put in front of him when the issues were discussed and they were agreed by him and the other councillors on May 23, 2011. He asked if Cllr Cunniffe had seen the entire minutes of the meetings he attended and suggested he read them. He pointed out that Cllr Cunniffe had already received all the relevant documents, including the minutes in question. He then proceeded to outline the relevant section, indicating that on the map the car park was marked 4 and the Palace Road was marked CD. It was stated that the transfer of CD involved the extinguishment of the right of way and this was agreed by the council, including Cllr Cunniffe. He added that the point he thought Cllr Cunniffe might be referring to was that the particular measurements did not exactly equate with the land in question, but this was a technical error. 'Galway Co Council entered into a legal agreement to dispose of the road in question and extinguish the right of way,' he said. Cllr Cunniffe said the process made a mockery of public process and he did not believe a Section183 involving the Place Road existed. Jim Cullen said there was a Section 183 agreement on the car park and the road and this was discussed with and explained to him and the other Tuam Area councillors and agreed to by the council. 'To suggest there is some other Section 183 flying around is not right,' the Director of Services concluded. Statement from Co Council on Palace road issue Tuam Inner Relief Road & Tuam Town Water & Main Drainage Scheme â€â€ Section 183 Transfer of Lands to Joseph & Helen O'Toole GALWAY County Council at the monthly meeting of Council held on the 23rd May 2011, decided unanimously to dispose of lands at Tuam, namely Bishop Street Car Park and the old swimming pool road. The lands in question were marked clearly on a map circulated to the members and the proposed disposal was explained at the meeting. This was recorded in the minutes of the meeting which were subsequently confirmed in June 2011. It was also explained at the meeting of the 23rd May 2011 that an extinguishment of public right of way would be brought before the council at a later date. This process is underway at the moment and will come before the council in due course. Subsequently the council entered into an agreement to give effect to the disposal decision and the arrangements for the construction of the inner relief road which has since been completed. Minutes of monthly meeting of Galway County Council held in the Community Centre, Killimor, on Monday 23rd May, 2011 MINUTE: 699 To consider report under Section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001 on the disposal of 0.1538 hectares of land at Bishop Street, Tuam, Co Galway. Report dated 12th May, 2011 was already circulated to each Member. Mr. Cullen referred to the Statutory Notice above. He advised the Members that the proposed inner relief road for Tuam was the subject of a Part 8 Planning approval by the Council previously. He also said that part of the road was also included in a planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanala under Reference No. PL07.229471 to Joseph and Helen O'Toole for a significant mixed use development in the centre of Tuam. He referred to Drawing No 01 dated l9th May, 2011 which had been circulated to the Members and said that as part of the proposal for the construction of the inner relief road and the re-routing of water services infrastructure within the road corridor as part of the contract for the Tuam Town Water and Main Drainage Scheme, it was being proposed to dispose of the lands marked 4 and C - D on Drawing No. 01 dated l9th May, 2011, to Joseph and Helen O'Toole. He advised that an extinguishment of public right of way would be needed for the area C - D following completion of the inner relief road marked A - B and its transfer to public ownership. On the proposal of Cllr McHugh, seconded by Cllr Canney, it was agreed that the disposal of 0.1538 hectares of land at Bishop Street, Tuam, Co Galway to Joseph and Helen O'Toole, Bishop Street, Tuam, be approved. [/private]