Built in the 1980s and the subject of an extension in the early 2000s, the existing City Hall headquarters facility has insufficient capacity to deliver effective service delivery and to cater for existing or future staffing levels in Galway City Council. The building contains limited facilities for public and civic events and the hosting of group meetings, a lack of private meeting space for dealing with customers, and an unsuitable Council Chamber with inadequate AV capabilities.
In 2021, Galway City Council initiated a project to assess the viability of its current accommodation needs against the short, medium and the long-term office requirements. The process involved identifying suitable accommodation to consolidate the four existing office locations at City Hall, Grammar School (Yeats College), 401 Eyre Square and Geata na Cathrach (Fairgreen) in one single 21st century civic building to include increased capacity, effective space for the delivery of customer services, improved accessibility for the public and members of staff, and a fit-for-purpose Council Chamber for Elected Members.
In early 2022, Galway City Council received an option to purchase a building at Crown Square, Monivea Road, situated approximately 1.5km from the city centre. Other options considered at the time included the refurbishment of City Hall and the rental of additional office space, the refurbishment and extension of City Hall, the rental of a new building elsewhere in the city, and the development of a new building on a greenfield site.
A recommendation to secure a loan to facilitate the acquisition of a building at Crown Square was presented by the Local Authority to Elected Members in July 2022. The option to purchase a building was selected by Galway City Council due to a variety of factors, namely the potential for delivering a modern fit-for purpose facility in a feasible time frame and to address current capacity issues, the improved accessibility provided by Crown Square for Council staff and the delivery of customer services, the significant opportunity for the development of social and affordable homes at the existing City Hall site, and the existence of constructed shell and core building that would current lead to minimise future construction and planning inflation increases.
The preferred option and a proposal to secure a €45.5m loan from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to fund the purchase of the building, car park and relevant taxes was considered and approved by Elected Members at a meeting of Galway City Council in July 2022.
Galway City Council will relocate to the modern, fit-for-purpose office building at the Crown Square campus in autumn 2026.
The new Corporate Headquarters facility will bring together staff currently located in four sites across the city and will provide an energy efficient civic building with comfortable, accessible, flexible public spaces, including private / group meeting rooms; a larger Council Chamber with appropriate AV facilities; public counters; staff canteen/ welfare areas; facilities for Elected Members; EV car charging public parking/cycle parking; and ease of access by public transport and on foot.
The move to Crown Square will enable Galway City Council to meet its Climate Action obligations and address regulatory challenges experienced in our current office space at College Road.
The offices have been designed to minimise environmental impact and achieve LEED Gold Compliance, NZEB standards and an 'A' energy rating. Such measures align with Galway City Council's corporate social responsibilities and the Local Authority’s goal of attaining Carbon Neutrality, as well as contributing to a greener and more sustainable Galway City.
Utilising the most energy-efficient systems and technologies, including a Building Management System (BMS) to control all heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and security systems and Automatic and LED lighting for both general and emergency purposes, the energy efficiency of the new building will deliver sufficient financial savings due to the reduced operational costs.
Strategically located just over five minutes from the motorway, Crown Square boasts reduced travel times to Dublin and regional cities around Ireland. Ongoing upgrades to the local transport infrastructure, in line with the Galway Transport Strategy, incorporate new active travel interventions which will furth enhancing the sustainability of and access to the area.
Galway City Council acknowledges that the relocation of the corporate headquarters from City Hall to Crown Square will have an impact on staff and customers. Consequently, the Local Authority has commenced an extensive internal and external communication strategy. Over the coming year, Galway City Council will host site familiarisation visits for Council staff and Elected Members and will also initiate expansive information campaigns in the local media and on social media regarding the move, travel options to Crown Square, and services to be provided at the new facility.
Galway City Council established a High-Level Information and Consultation Group with relevant Trade Unions in which ongoing updates were provided and any issues or concerns regarding the move to Crown Square could be raised and addressed. Fórsa, while initially engaged did not respond to requests for feedback from its members and subsequently withdrew from the engagement process. Other Trade Unions have continued to engage with Galway City Council.
In relation to the protest at City Hall on Monday 10 March, Galway City Council has invited representatives of the FÓRSA union to rejoin the High-Level Information and Consultation Group to discuss the findings of their members’ survey on the move to Crown Square and concerns raised within. A meeting of this group can be convened as soon as possible.