Council still dealing with problem estates

Council still dealing with ‘problematic’ unfinished estates


Ciara Galvin

After surveying 300 estates across the county, Mayo County Council is now dealing with approximately 125 of the most ‘problematic’, that is according to Senior Planner Iain Douglas.
Mr Douglas told the July Ballina Municipal District meeting that the council was currently calling on bonds and working with developers to finish estates. He said that the council will continue to call in bonds and cease cash deposits.
Fianna FΡil councillor Michael Smyth asked that the Ballina Municipal District should aid in taking responsibility for unfinished estates in the Ballina area.
Smyth said that lighting was an issue in unfinished estates and that he knew of one near miss where a child was nearly killed by a car due to the lack of lighting in one estate.
Cllr Michael Loftus said he would like to see Mayo County Council’s enforcement office do something in relation to putting pressure on developers to finish estates and said the Abbey Court estate needed attention as there was a strong smell coming from the estate. Mr Douglas told the councillor that the council would take the developer of Abbey Court to court if he did not help in the finishing of the estate.

Housing stock
Director of Services with Mayo County Council Paul Benson told the meeting that in relation to council housing, Ballina Municipal District has 700 houses in its stock, which was ‘quite a large stock to maintain’.
Independent councillor Cllr Gerry Ginty said the housing list in Ballina was ‘huge’ and called on the government to ‘have an immediate build of houses’.
Councillors Seamus Weir (Ind), John O’Hara (FG) and Fianna FΡil’s Annie May Reape agreed with Cllr Ginty’s sentiments with Weir supporting the call for the immediate builds.