Dear Editor,
There has been such fuss made recently over the fact that the developer (sic) of Taaffe's shop has been refused permission because of an 'amazing' fear over the proximity of the oil tanks at Galway docks.

The SEVESO 2 Directives are only now having an effect in the city, though planners would have been aware of their implications for some years, since the HAS (Health & Safety Authority) imposed a 400 metre exclusion zone on developments, after the Buncefield (UK) explosion in December 2005.

What has not been mentioned at all are the other two reasons for this refusal. Apparently people in Galway have no interest in the fact that by gutting the building, the developer would be removing 'substantial amounts of late-medieval fabric [which] would adversely affect the character and historic mediaeval fabric of the protected structure'. Also, the proposed new shop front 'by reason of design, materials and arrangement would seriously detract from the existing streetscape'.

Some months ago, a very bright 'Heritage Studies' student from GMIT carried out a survey which discovered that 69 per cent of respondents believed that shop fronts in Galway's Shop St & Abbeygate St 'were not in keeping with the older buildings they occupy' and, 91 per cent said they would like to see more 'traditional shop fronts'. Meanwhile 61 per cent agreed that 'the influx of multinational stores are costing Galway its unique street identity'.

Hollywood actor Gabriel Byrne, on several occasions, has complained about the way Galway was 'losing its original beauty and identity'.

In point of fact, Galway City Development Plan contains only a few lines devoted to the protection of its traditional shop fronts. An Taisce is actively trying to develop a policy document just as Dublin City Council have done, (25 pages) in respect of their special streetscapes Grafton St, Henry St and O'Connell Street. An Taisce will not be satisfied until Galway City Council adopts similar protection measures, which determines what kind of materials, signs, flags and finishes are allowed, before this city's character is lost entirely.

Yours faithfully,
Derrick Hambleton,
Chair,
An Taisce - Galway Association,
Kingston,
Galway

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