Councillors urge against Westport development

Councillors urge against development at Cloonmonad


“Quarry Lane is just what it states – a lane.” Cllr Margaret Adams

Áine Ryan

WESTPORT Town Manager, Mr Peter Hynes has been warned that the granting of permission for a construction site at Quarry Lane, Upper Quay, to facilitate a small housing development in Cloonmonad would have ‘serious repercussion for the council’.
At last week’s town council meeting, one councillor after the other spoke strongly about concerns relating to an application by Thomas Joyce and Sons Ltd for permission to construct four detached houses in Cloonmonad, with associated site works at Quarry Lane.
“I recall this application back in 2003, it was withdrawn after a traffic impact statement did not stand up,” said Cllr Ollie Gannon.
Referring to recent site meetings attended by councillors and local residents, Cllr Gannon said that ‘anyone who is aware of the Upper Quay traffic knows it is so bad that speed ramps had to be put in lately’.
“This is a very serious traffic management issues and I think this will have very serious repercussion for this council,” he continued.
He also referred to the proximity and uniqueness of the old railway line amenity walk, which takes in a rural aspect in an urban area’.
Addressing the access bridge built over the amenity walk, Cllr Brendan Mulroy observed that the last council ‘went out on a limb for that bridge’, and moreover, that ‘it would be an awful injustice if the bridge was left as a monument’.
“One of the reasons that I supported [the building] of that bridge was that all the access [to the Cloonmonad lands] was to be via it. For this planning permission to go through, in its existing format, would be against what we agreed and have implications for our development plan,” continued Cllr Mulroy.
His party colleague, Cllr Margaret Adams put the issue succinctly: “Quarry Lane is just what it states – a lane. There are no footpaths. I see no reason for this planning application, the natural access is via the  bridge.”
Stressing the amenity status of the railway line walk, Cllr Michael McLaughlin noted that essentially, ‘the time for the application was when the bridge was in use’.
“This application has come too early,” said Cllr McLaughlin.
Cllr Tereasa McGuire addressed Westport’s heritage and cultural status as a planned town and observed that such a development ‘would be a terrible betrayal’ of this, particularly in light of the uniqueness of the rural amenity, that is the railway walk, in the town.
The proximity of a large national school and the use of the area by schoolchildren was stressed by Cllr Christy Hyland.
Responding, Mr Hynes observed that ‘everybody has rights’, including the applicant, and, moreover, that protocol demanded that he could not comment specifically about an ongoing application.
He explained: “The further information sought here is about sanitary services and context. The norm [for all applications] is that traffic impact and parking is assessed.”
Cathaoirleach Myles Staunton said that any planning permissions passed or object to during the summer break would be e-mailed to councillors.