Planning Services

The Salthill Village and Seafront Framework Plan is a project to explore local priorities and help identify and formulate ideas for improving Salthill village and seafront.

Galway City Council is the Building Control Authority for the City of Galway. Building Control should not be confused with Planning Control which enforces the Planning Conditions for a Development.

The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 provides an exemption for a period of time for the change of use and related works of vacant commercial premises for residential purposes.

Framework plans set out guiding principles for development to secure high standards in quality and design and to generally create well connected living environments.

The Galway City Development Plan 2023-2029 sets out the policies and objectives for the development of the City over the plan period. The plan has been prepared in accordance with the steps set out in the Planning and Development Acts.

Together with urban designers and architects, Allies and Morrison, we will be hosting a series of events throughout 2025 to provide opportunities for local people to be involved in helping to shape a vision and priorities for Salthill Village and Seafront.

Situated along Galway Bay, Salthill has evolved into a hub for health and wellbeing.

‘Large-scale Residential Development’ or LRD applications are applications made to local authority for the development of 100 or more houses, the development of student accommodation that includes 200 or more bed spaces, both the development of 100 or more houses and of student accommodation, or both the development of student accommodation that includes 200 or more bed spaces and of houses.

The Living City initiative focuses on the regeneration of retail and commercial districts and encouraging people to live in the historic centres of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford.

A Local Area Plan is a legal document and is a public statement that provides more detailed planning policies, than the City Development Plan, for areas in the city that are expected to experience significant development and change.

Salthill is home to over 60 independent and growing businesses, ranging from food and beverage, to hotels, IT and leisure, that have flourished over many years.

Situated between the wild Atlantic Ocean and Galway City, Salthill has a mix of everything from small independent shops and tourist activities, together with magnificent views of Galway Bay, the Clare Hills and Aran Islands on the horizon across the formidable ocean.

In order to create a successful vision and framework plan for the future, it is essential to gain an understanding of the needs, ambitions and wishes of local people. Looking to the future is an important exercise – thinking about our children’s generation and the generations to come will help us to create a long-term view on how Salthill will evolve. The preparation of a framework plan for the Salthill Seafront and Village is a timely opportunity to shape a long-term vision which embraces wider priorities, maximising opportunities for Salthill as part its dynamic Galway context.

The Online Planning Enquiry Systems allow you to view Maps and Planning Applications online.

To apply for planning permission you must complete a planning application and submit it, together with the required documents and the appropriate fee, to the planning department of the local authority to which your application relates.

Planning applications received, refused, further information requests and others.

The purpose of pre-planning consultation is to afford applicants the opportunity to seek advice from the Planning Authority on a proposed development. This advice can include indicating the relevant objectives and policies of the Development Plan that have a bearing on the decision of the application.

What is the function of the Planning Department? When do I need Planning Permission?

The Strategy provides a vision of place and design guidance. It outlines a series of project proposals of different scales that will improve Galway’s streets and public spaces over a period of time that will coincide with the ambition of the National Planning Framework to realise Galway’s role as Regional City.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2021. The process to identify land to which the tax applies is ongoing and the tax will be due from February 2025 and payable from 23 May 2025.

The tax aims to activate serviced, zoned land for residential or mixed use. This is to boost housing supply and regenerate vacant, idle urban land. These locations have been identified within statutory land use plans as being appropriate locations for housing and they have benefitted from investment in the key services to support the delivery of housing.

The Salthill Village and Seafront Framework Plan will guide the area's future development.

As part of the measures to help address pressures in the private housing rental market, new planning legislative reforms to regulate the short term letting sector are due to come into effect on 1 July 2019.

The area is also part of an important and sensitive coastal environment. Climate resilience is increasingly important today and into the future.

Salthill is situated on the edge of the stunning Galway Bay and Atlantic Ocean on the centre point of the Wild Atlantic Way. Salthill seafront offers a unique landscape setting with a stunning promenade, amenity and biodiversity spaces and blue flag beaches which are hugely popular with local residents and visitors.

Any development which requires planning permission and does not have that permission, or which is going ahead in breach of the specific conditions set out in its planning permission, is classed as 'unauthorised development'.

Under the Urban Regeneration & Housing Act 2015 all planning authorities are required to establish and maintain a Vacant Sites Register.

Salthill Village and seafront is a destination for city dwellers, day trippers and holiday makers dating back to the mid-19th century, when the promenade was constructed, and locals and visitors alike came to enjoy the seafront and take fresh air. In later years, it became an important bathing area with the construction of the diving tower, the tidal pools (now defunct) and beach shelters. From the 1950s onwards, the area developed with the construction of housing, hotels and tourist facilities.

Taking in charge is a formal legal process by which responsibility for certain public areas, structures and services in a private residential development or estate are transferred to, or put in the charge of, a local authority.

Urban Development SPC