Galway Bay fm newsroom - The city council's decision to refuse planning permission for a significant expansion of the Skeffington Arms Hotel has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
The project would have seen the demolition of the existing nightclub building to make way for a seven-story building over the existing basement.
This would make way for 44 hotel bedrooms.
The project also involved realignment structural consolidation, and re-cladding of the existing second storey bridge linking to the main hotel building, to provide an upper level link between the existing hotel and the proposed extension.
The existing basement would have remained in place, while the ground floor and sixth floors would also have contained customer facilities including reception, foyer, restaurant, and café/breakfast area.
Part of the proposed development is located within the Eyre Square Architectural Conservation Area and the site is adjacent to a number of protected structures.
In making their decision, city planners cited two factors.
One cited the overall poor design in contributing to the unacceptable nature of the development - including the scale, height and low quality visual appearance of the proposed extension - as well as the impact on the Eyre Square Architectural Conservation Area, and the affect on the city centre streetscape.
The decision has now been appealed to An Bord Pleanala and a decision is due in November.
