Galway Bay fm newsroom - A second attempt to develop a new diner in Liosbán in the city has been unsuccessful.
Acrisium Limited which owns Starbucks and TGI Fridays franchises in Ireland, has been refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for the diner at the Elverys store at Centrepoint.
Galway City Council initially refused permission to change the ground floor and mezzanine floor from retail to restaurant use at Centrepoint Liosban.
The council felt that the scale of the proposed development was excessive.
However, Acrisium Limited appealed the refusal to An Bord Pleanála.
The company revised the floor area for the restaurant, reducing the floorspace by 44 per cent as part of the appeal.
It states that the proposed restaurant would primarily serve the needs of customers and employees of Liosban Industrial Park.
The company argued that there is also a clear precedent for café and restaurants in the wider area.
Despite this argument, the higher planning authority has turned down the plans.
It states that the scale of the proposed restaurant is contrary to the zoning objective of the area.
The board believes that the planned restaurant for Liosban is not 'retail of a type and scale appropriate to the function and character of the area.'
