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Infrastructure · Co. Galway

Gort, Galway Road, Galway

Granted 17 Jul 2026

Archived record

This application has left our current planning lists, so this page is no longer updated. We last saw it in the council's register on 16 Aug 2026. The details below are as they were then. The council's register has the current status.

What and where

Off-Line Service Area

for an Off-Line Service Area (M18 Motorway), Galway Road (R458), Gort, County Galway. The proposed development comprises the following: upgrade of existing site access off Galway Road (R458); 1 no. single storey Service Area building (726 sq. m gross floor area) containing 1 no. retail area 95.49 sq. m net floor space (including ancillary off-licence), back-of-house staff/office/WC rooms, storage areas, plant room, pump room, toilet and baby changing facilities; food and beverage areas comprising self-service areas, the sale of hot and cold food (3 no. food type offerings) for consumption on and off the premises, with associated internal communal seating, freezer/storage areas and food preparation areas; drive-thru food facility (hatch and lane) to side and rear of Service Area building; outdoor seating and picnic areas to include an externally located 24/7 Washing/Drying Facility; 6 no. double-pump islands with forecourt canopy over to include 4 no. underground fuel storage tanks, 1 no. HGV pump island to include 2 no. underground HGV fuel storage tanks; 70 no. car parking spaces (including 4 no. disabled accessible spaces, 14 no. electric vehicle charging spaces (EV)), 7 no. HGV spaces, 3 no. coach spaces, 54 no. bicycle spaces, 5 no. motorcycle spaces and air/water services area with a further 2 no. parking bays; ancillary wall mounted and totem pole signage comprising 12 no. (both illuminated and non-illuminated); 1 no. car wash and valet building (65.2 sq. m); foul water pump chamber, storage tank with control kiosk and upgrade of foul sewer rising main for connection to existing mains sewer and associated works; Nature-Based and Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS) to include soakaways and rain gardens; all ancillary site development works to include pedestrian footpaths, external bin stores, solid fuel storage, ESB sub-station, lighting, landscaping and associated boundary treatments. A Natura Impact Assessment (NIS) has been prepared and submitted with the Planning Application. Gross floor space of proposed works: 791.20 m²

Location
Galway Road, Co. Galway Map
Planning reference
2560994
Applicant
Riverside Foods Ltd

Key facts

Floor area
1,613 m²
Indicative value
€1m–3mPlanningBrief estimate
Project type
Infrastructure
Received
22 Jul 2025
Granted
17 Jul 2026

Timeline

  1. Application received
  2. Further information requested
  3. Granted

Outlook

What happens next

Permission was granted on 17 Jul 2026 and no site start has been filed yet. The next step is a commencement notice, filed before building work begins; the start date and who will build it are not known yet.

Work packages named so far

  • Roads and site development worksNamed in the application description
  • Services and drainageNamed in the application description

An outlook from the planning record, not a tender or a confirmed start date.

Documents and evidence

Check the record

  • Council planning fileThe application file 2560994 on eplanning.ie: drawings, reports and the decision.Open the council's file

Reviewed build intelligence

What the documents establish

Government document review

The application is under appeal. The July 2025 energy statement is explicitly a draft; a lighting report issued in March 2026 was received with further information in May 2026. These are source-stage proposals, not installed equipment or a final approval specification.

2 official documents inspected · Checked 2026-09-05 · Official file index

VRF and separate hot-water heat pump proposed

Proposed in application · Service-area building, July 2025 draft energy proposal

What the evidence says
The draft statement proposes VRF heating and cooling for the retail, kitchen and dining areas, electric radiators in ancillary spaces, and a standalone high-temperature air-source heat pump for domestic hot water. Roof space is identified for plant.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: separates the principal space-conditioning and hot-water packages and identifies roof-plant coordination.

What is not established
No installed manufacturer, capacity, equipment schedule or procurement is established. An illustrative VRF image is not treated as a project-specific product selection.

Inspect the evidence

Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation Design Statement · p.11
VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) system · Issued 2025-07-02 · G25003-EDC-XX-XX-XX-RP-0001 Rev 03, DRAFT; received 2025-07-22 · Checked 2026-09-05

VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) system

20% operational EV provision and wider ducting intent

Proposed in application · Parking provision described by this draft statement

What the evidence says
The energy statement says the intention is for 20% of car-parking spaces to have fully functional EV charging and for ducting to be installed to every car-parking space for future provision.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: identifies immediate charger provision and a separate future ducting requirement.

What is not established
This percentage is not converted into a charger count. Final parking totals, electrical demand and approved charger specification are not established from the inspected pages.

Inspect the evidence

Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation Design Statement · p.12
20% minimum requirement · Issued 2025-07-02 · G25003-EDC-XX-XX-XX-RP-0001 Rev 03, DRAFT; received 2025-07-22 · Checked 2026-09-05

20% minimum requirement

Solar PV remains a conditional option

Proposed in application · Draft energy strategy

What the evidence says
Solar photovoltaic panels are described as being considered where required to supplement renewable-energy provision.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: PV is a design option to clarify with a later energy or electrical submission.

What is not established
No committed array, module count, capacity, manufacturer or installation is stated.

Inspect the evidence

Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation Design Statement · p.13
Photovoltaic (PV) will be considered · Issued 2025-07-02 · G25003-EDC-XX-XX-XX-RP-0001 Rev 03, DRAFT; received 2025-07-22 · Checked 2026-09-05

Photovoltaic (PV) will be considered

Later lighting report identifies three 2700 K luminaire families

Proposed in application · External lighting calculation schedule received as further information on 12 May 2026

What the evidence says
The March 2026 lighting schedule lists 28 type A TWEET NEO S2-X2 luminaires at 104 W, four type B KERIS 2 luminaires at 216 W, and nine type C TWEET ORIGIN S3-X3 luminaires at 132 W; all three schedule entries specify 2700 K.

Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: provides named luminaire families and electrical ratings for checking the later lighting design.

What is not established
Supplier fields are blank. These are modelled schedule quantities, not purchased or installed counts. A repeated identifier appears in the layout listing, so identifiers are not independently summed into a site total. Final approved lighting conditions and later substitutions remain unverified.

Inspect the evidence

Gort Plaza Lighting Layout Report · p.2
TWEET NEO S2-X2 · Issued 2026-03-18 · IG25003; received 12 May 2026 as further information; no revision number established; received 2026-05-12 · Checked 2026-09-05

TWEET NEO S2-X2
Remaining document questions
  • Which later official decision, approved detail or revision changes these source-specific findings?
  • Has a phase-specific official record established the selected equipment or installed specification?

Selected pages of 2 government-published PDFs were visually inspected. Two official PDFs inspected on the listed pages. Registry file links include other application records; no claim that all 201 are technical PDFs or have been inspected. Proposals do not establish procurement or installed work.

How we know this

From the Galway County Council planning register, as last seen on 16 Aug 2026. The council's own file is the official record. Facts from the planning documents were read from the documents in that file.

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