#GalwayBay - The public notice period for the Marine Institute’s foreshore lease application to upgrade the Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test Site has been extended by two weeks to Friday 1 July 2016.
Following representations to the Foreshore Licensing Unit from locals and the Marine Institute, Planning Minister Simon Coveney decided this week (Wednesday 15 June), as an exceptional matter and in the public interest, to extend the period by which submissions from members of the public for the above application can be submitted by a further 10 working days.
The new extended closing date by which submissions must be made is now close of business on Friday 1 July. Submissions received after this date will not be taken into consideration.
Further information on the application will be made available early next week in order to address queries raised during a well attended public information meeting in Spiddal last Tuesday 14 June.
The Marine Institute applied to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (formerly the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government) for a foreshore lease for the Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test site where prototype marine technology can be tested at reduced scale to determine viability in an ocean environment.
Observations are invited on the foreshore lease application which outlines plans to upgrade the existing infrastructure and facilitate the deployment of a wider range of marine renewable energy devices and novel sensor technologies at the Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test site.
The Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test Site has been in operation since 2006, when it was established by the Marine Institute and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The purpose of the site is to allow technology innovators to test the viability of small scale prototypes in an ocean environment.
A copy of the application and all relevant maps, plans, reports and drawings are available to download from the departmental website. Copies of these documents are also available for viewing at Salthill Garda Station, Salthill, as well as Spiddal Public Library and Comhlacht Forbartha An Spidéal Teo in Spiddal until 5pm on 1 July 2016.
Should you wish to make a submission on the lease applications you should do so in writing no later than 5pm on 1 July 2016 (quoting ref: FS 006566) to the Foreshore Unit, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Newtown Road, Wexford or [email protected].