Galway City Council has been nominated in two categories in the upcoming Irish Planning Institute Awards for the recently prepared Galway City Public Realm Strategy. These national awards honour the diverse range of projects and plans currently in progress in local authorities around the country in complex and dynamic environments. Award nominations from this prestigious body acknowledges the innovation and quality of the specific projects in the strategy planned for Galway City.
President of the Irish Planning Institute, Joe Corr, was impressed by the standards of all projects submitted for consideration. He also noted the high calibre of work and the output of the Planning Sector across the country. The award ceremony will take place this Thursday, 27 February.
Welcoming the news, Mayor of Galway City, Councillor Mike Cubbard,
praised Galway City Council’s leadership and commitment to delivering
quality and inclusive public spaces for the people of the city.
“The
Galway Public Realm Strategy will make the city centre as welcoming and
accessible to everyone as possible. It promotes universal design and
helps open up the city to all. It will make getting into and moving
around Galway much easier,” he said.
In total the Panel of Judges have shortlisted 34 projects across seven categories from a total entry of 56 projects. Galway City Council’s Public Realm Strategy has been nominated firstly in the Participation and Engagement Category. This reflects the innovative measures used to encourage engagement and also the high levels of public participation by Galway residents in the preparation of the strategy who shared their views with the design team at each stage of the process.
Galway City Council Chief Executive, Mr Brendan McGrath also paid tribute to all members of the public who took the time to share their knowledge and vision for the city.
“Those who live and work in Galway know their city. They possess immense local knowledge of the way Galway is, both in terms of what really makes the city special, and understanding what the key priorities for change are” he said.
The Strategy is also nominated in the Design Category, which
recognises the design projects that best respond to their environments
in an urban or rural setting. Commending the steering group and the
project team who worked on the Galway Public Realm Strategy, Mr McGrath
added:
“This nomination is a recognition on a national stage, of the
innovative work carried out by the design team and steering group in
the preparation of the strategy. The strategy is inspired by and
celebrates the unique qualities and character of the city, in particular
the fundamental elements of stone and water underpinning its
character.”
The Galway Public Realm Strategy, was commissioned by the Planning Section in Galway City Council and was prepared by Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners, Dermot Foley Landscape Architects and TOBIN Engineering in conjunction with Council staff on the steering committee. 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 Galway Public Realm Strategy can be viewed at www.galwaycity.ie/public-realm-strategy
