Forced out

Castlebar restaurant owner forced out by levies

Councillor criticises ‘prohibitive and excessive’ Council levies in county town

Áine Ryan

A FORMER Castlebar restaurateur has been forced to relocate to Westport, because of prohibitively expensive Council levies in the county town.
Mr Peter Langan, who had operated a restaurant on Castlebar’s Tucker Street but recently sought to move to a prime site in Market Square instead, made his decision to leave the town when car parking levies of €189,000 were slapped on him by the local authority. He told The Mayo News yesterday (Monday) that some planning regulations were financially unrealistic.
Mr Langan’s view was reiterated by Labour’s Cllr Johnny Mee who said that a betterment levy of €189,000 for the proposed restaurant on Market Square was both ‘prohibitive and excessive’.
 “My understanding was that Mr Peter Langan, who used to operate a restaurant on Tucker Street, was anxious to acquire a premises at the Market Square. I also understand that after he was slapped with a levy of €189,000 he was forced to relocate to Westport,” said Cllr Mee yesterday. He had earlier raised the issue at last week’s Town Council meeting.
“Such high levies are totally prohibitive and excessive. Mr Langan’s move to Westport is a great loss to Castlebar. I generally think that these betterment levies are too high, especially at a time when there is a recession and these businesses provide employment,” continued Cllr Mee.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Langan confirmed that the enormity of the levy had forced him to reconsider his perspective on developing his business in Castlebar and, moreover, had a significant impact on his chosen career direction.
“Basically, Langan’s Café and Restaurant Ltd ran a business on Tucker Street for some time. We decided to seek a better location and chose the premises over the ACC Bank on Market Square, which has fabulous views of Croagh Patrick. We then negotiated a lease with the owner of the building on the basis we could get planning permission for a change of use,” said Mr Langan.
“We were given the planning permission, with car parking levies of €189,000. These monies had to be paid up front. Considering that the building already has been allocated 15 car parking spaces and, on top of that, we were being allocated 54 spaces – like two floors of a car park, it just wasn’t feasible,” he continued.
Mr Langan observed that consequently he was forced to relocate to Westport and is now running the iconic Quay Cottage restaurant at the harbour.
Meanwhile, Ms Marie Crowley, Castlebar Town Clerk, told The Mayo News yesterday that these levies are subject to strict protocols.
“The Development Plan determines the number of [parking] spaces required for a development. Then the Development Contribution Scheme determines the amount of the levy we impose per space, if the applicant isn’t in a position to provide his own spaces,” said Ms Crowley.