Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Leonard Cleary, welcomed 400 national and international planning professionals to Galway City, at the prestigious National Planning Conference 2025, taking place in Salthill from 9-11 April 2025. The conference took place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), and the launch of the Galway City and County Metropolitan Area Socio Economic Profile. The European Council of Town Planners also held their AGM as a parallel event in Salthill, with 25 senior international planning experts participating.
In addition to keeping Galway City at the centre of conversation around good planning and delivery, the event generated approximately 500 bed nights and associated spend in the city, with visitors benefiting from a spell of warm spring weather to enjoy Galway.
Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive delivered the opening keynote address, where he outlined the strategic priorities for the City in the coming years, and strategy for delivery.
Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive, Galway City Council commented:
“Galway City Council recently restructured to create new Urban Development and Project Development directorates, which will support the future sustainable growth of the city in line with the Government’s revised National Planning Framework (NPF) published this week - where Galway City continues to provide a focus for the Northern and Western Region. Nearly 30% (29.9%) of all workers in the Western Region live in Galway city catchment, up 3% since last Census, with the city playing home to an internationally noted MedTech business cluster and a strong, emerging ICT cluster. Galway City is projected to grow by 50% by 2040 to 122,000 people. Significant public investment is required to unlock sustainable development within the City at present, and to enable the proposed growth of the city as outlined in government policy.”
Mr Cleary emphasised the importance of the role of local Elected Members to develop a common understanding of the importance of national strategic outcomes, and the urgency of local delivery, stating:
“I note emerging change as the relationship between local authorities and the Office of the Planning Regulator matures and as the role beds in – in both oversight and education - my hope is that we can again recognise the value and insight that local Elected Members bring and in harnessing that, facilitate them in taking responsibility and support some of the difficult decisions required to build a better city.”
Mr Cleary flagged the need for a shared vision and sense of purpose to transform Galway, referencing the 12 principles of sustainable urbanism reflected in the ‘Greater Galway Charter’, developed by staff of Galway City Council in cooperation with the Academy of Urbanism, the Royal Institute of the Architects in Ireland, and other stakeholders.
“This commitment to collaborative leadership presents a shared vision of the city and demonstrates that the leadership of Galway City can cooperate and build confidence for inward investment – public and private.”
Highting the potential for investment and renewal in Galway City, Mr Cleary said, “Significant opportunities are currently being progressed in partnership with the Land Development Agency, at Sandy Road and Dyke Road. Ceathrú an Ghainimh – The Sandy Quarter will have a strong sense of place for the entire local community, providing approximately 750 new homes at a density of approximately 70 dwellings per hectare – in a brownfield site where education, wastewater, transport, health and community infrastructure already exist. In Dyke Road, just last month a Part 10 planning application was submitted for the delivery of 219 homes on a cost-rental model – close to services and transport. This is what regeneration looks like when it is guided by clear vision, enabled by public investment, and delivered in partnership.”
“Funding models such as URDF or its successor (the Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund) need to be calibrated to ensure timely, well-sequenced infrastructure that activates housing and aligns with policy objectives”
Mr Cleary stated that “Galway City is ready to deliver”, noting the City Council’s recent submission to the Programme for Government, as agreed with the Elected Members, which identifies the 12 key priorities requiring a National Government intervention, to progress over the next decade.
These priorities include the N6 Galway City Ring Road, BusConnects Galway; Galway City Flood Defence Scheme (Coirib go Cósta); funding model; pilot Tourist Bed Night Tax; wastewater infrastructure; regeneration of Dyke Road and Sandy Road; enabling development of Ardaun; the Clifden Railway Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge; cultural infrastructure fund; and Galway Port redevelopment.
Mr Cleary also highlighted the need to embrace, “the socio-economic opportunities of the waterfront and water resource for Galway for all generations. As a city built on water, there is significant potential to maximise this amenity, to regenerate brownfield and derelict sites adjacent to water, and to deliver on amenity-led development in partnership with the private sector.”
Mr Cleary noted the importance of sustainable growth for the city, as part of national strategies, stating “Our City Council fully supports the concept of Compact Urban Growth as described in the National Planning Framework. Galway is ready to be a key player in the National Planning Framework and to play a significant part in addressing regional imbalances in the county – we have the plans, the people, and the partnerships, and welcome national support to realise our pivotal role”.
Other keynote speakers at the conference included Peter Mullan, chair of An Bord Pleanála, Emer O’Callaghan, Planning Lead at the Land Development Agency, and Ciarán Cuffe, the former Green Party MEP, TD and Minister for State, and a qualified planner.
A new Galway City and County Metropolitan Area Socio Economic Profile was launched at the conference, in partnership with Galway County Council and Justin Gleeson of People and Place. For the first time, this profile aligns the 27 neighbourhoods in the Galway City Development Plan with Central Statistics Office small area boundaries. This profile will form the evidence base for a new, neighbourhood approach to planning in Galway, and will help to track deprivation, demographic change, access to services, and infrastructure need.
Eoghan Lynch, Senior Planner, Galway City Council commented, “The team in Planning was honoured to host our colleagues from the Irish Planning Institute in Galway City this week and to launch the Galway City and County Metropolitan Area Socio Economic Profile. This conference is a chance to reflect on five decades of planning achievement and transformation in Ireland—and to look forward, collectively, to what the next fifty years might bring. Planners have a unique perspective across disciplines, coordinating our development efforts and helping the rest of us to imagine what a better future might look like and how we should take the first steps towards building it.”
Leonard Cleary acknowledged the role of the Irish Planning Institute for its leadership, its advocacy, and the Director of Service with responsibility for Planning in Galway City Council, Patricia Philbin; Senior Planners, Eoghan Lynch and James Russell; and planning staff in Galway City Council, who were involved in delivering the conference.