Councillors give green light for Portwest Quay plans

Material contravention granted at meeting despite public concerns

Anton McNulty

Portwest’s plans for a €10 million global headquarters at The Quay in Westport took a major step forward this afternoon after councillors backed a material contravention of the site.
The Westport workwear clothing giant needed the councillors of the West Mayo Municipal District to rezone the 0.615 hectare site on Roman Island at Westport Quay to allow planning permission for their new headquarters to be considered. The site is currently zoned for Marine Related Tourism and the material contravention was needed to rezone it.
The councillors met this afternoon to consider the recommendations by Peter Hynes, the Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, to approve the material contravention and following a short debate the proposal was passed by six votes to one.
The only dissenting voice was by Fine Gael councillor Tereasa McGuire, who said she could not back the proposal without having seen the planning reports submitted by the senior planners and an independent review panel.
“While I am supportive of progress in the town, I cannot sleep comfortably in my bed at night in making a decision when I don’t have the full information. I will probably be the lone voice in the desert but I must be true to what I believe. I feel asking anyone to make the decision without the full facts is foolhardy. I won’t go against it but I cannot be party to a decision without the information. It doesn’t sit comfortably with me,” she said.
Cllr McGuire added she would not be making a counter proposal but wondered if there was any possibility that the planning report and the independent review panel report could be made available to them. Director of Services, Catherine McConnell, explained that the planning reports would be available after the planning decision is made.
Cllr Brendan Mulroy proposed accepting the Chief Executive’s recommendation and he was seconded by Cllr Christy Hyland, who both spoke of the employment which will be provided by the Portwest headquarters relocating to The Quay.
Erris-based councillor Gerry Coyle said that if the project does not get the go-ahead in Westport, it would be welcomed in Belmullet.
The councillors were informed that only the proposed site for the building will be rezoned and the rest of Roman Island and the Point will remain zoned for Marine Related Tourism.
Mayo County Council received 87 valid submissions from the public in relation to the material contravention with 62 objecting, 23 in support and two were neutral. The meeting in the Westport Civil Offices was attended by up to a dozen members of the public who were both in favour and against the project.
The proposed building will be a predominately four-storey development consisting of approximately 2,593 square metres of office space and includes a gym, shower and changing facility, a canteen, cafe and ICT room.
A fifth storey stair and lift core will provide access to a screened plant area at roof level. The building is intended to accommodate approximately 150 employees and the development also consists of 91 car parking spaces.

See next Tuesday’s edition of The Mayo News for more on this story.