Áine Ryan
aineryan@mayonews.ie
IT will be the New Year before the public consultation process begins for significant development works at Westport Quay. While the Town Council has prepared a design, the local authority’s nine councillors must first formally give the thumbs-up to the Part 8 planning process.
Confirming this to The Mayo News last week, Simon Wall, Town Architect said: “ We expect it will early in the New Year when the public consultation process starts. We have prepared the design. We also have carried out a CPO on the land-bank where the new Coastguard Station is due to be built next year.”
Last February the council detailed its short -term and long-term aims for the Quay at a public meeting held last February.
Mr Wall said at that meeting: “Tonight we are effectively harnessing a plan for the Quay into the future. The impression is that Westport town benefited from a lot of development during the Celtic Tiger era but the Quay was also a significant beneficiary. This has been further enhanced by the opening of the Greenway which connects Westport Quay with Achill,” Simon Wall said.
He cited the recent rebranding of Westport Harbour with distinctive signage as another positive way of defining and highlighting for tourists the fact that the town had a waterfront. Mr Wall noted that Westport House also brought thousands of people to the Quay area every year.
At the time council official said the Quays pathways and roads would be upgraded within weeks.
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday, Christine Harrington of The Harbour Store, said: “While we welcome the news of this project finally going-ahead, we were told that work on the pathways and roads would be carried out during October. Now this has been deferred again, the Quay is an important residential and tourism area for Westport and it must be prioritised.”
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