Regional Reporter
Water sports enthusiasts in Galway have welcomed what they describe as a ‘sea change’ by the county council on proposed new beach bye-laws.
The controversial measures included the banning of leisure activities like windsurfing, kayaking and paddle boarding “in close proximity” to swimmers on 24 beaches across the county.
Following the last Galway County Council Plenary Meeting of the year, officials and councillors have unanimously agreed to invite water sports bodies and stakeholders to make presentations to the Strategic Policy Committee Meeting early next year, regarding zoning maps and wording of the contentious bye-laws.
Barry Nevin, a local community pharmacist and heads the Zone Galway Beaches campaign group, welcomed the development.
He said: “Christmas has come early for us. Galway County Council are putting on a united front and showing very positive signs and goodwill. We look forward to engaging with them co-operatively in the New Year.
“The last thing we wanted was a divided County Hall just like we didn’t want to divide people on our waters”
The high-profile campaign attracted over 1,000 written submissions to County Hall, as well as 6,000 online.
Mr Nevin said that submissions from governing bodies of water sports organisations around the country had come together to fight what he said was an issue of national importance.
“By zoning our beaches and changing the contentious wording, Galway is acting as a national template on how to manage, zone and promote our beaches,” he said.
Fáilte Ireland has also expressed concern about the impact of the draft bye-laws on water pursuits along the Wild Atlantic Way. The tourism body has called for the zoning of different beach activities as a way to ensure safe areas for bathers with ‘due regard’ to water sports users.
Mr Nevin said the issue of bye-laws for safety purposes was not in dispute, but the beaches affected needed to looked at individually for zoning purposes.
He said their Blue Flag status would be jeopardised if the bye-laws proceeded without amendment.
Regional Reporter
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