Westport Development Plan must address economic downturn

Development Plan must address current economic downturn 


Áine Ryan

HALF EMPTY housing estates, depopulation and de-zoning were high among the concerns of Westport area county councillors who yesterday met to discuss aspects of the Town and Environs Draft Development Plan. It is due to come before the next Mayo County Council meeting on September 14 next.
Dismissing projections in the plan for a 3,000 population increase, Fine Gael’s Cllr Peter Flynn warned that ‘the real challenge [for the council] was to maintain our population’.
“The town has a population of 5,000 and it is in decline. Many of our immigrants are returning to their own countries and we could also be going back to the days when lots of our own are back at Knock [Airport],” said Cllr Flynn.
He continued: “Things have changed  dramatically since we first put this plan together. Here in Ireland, and in the west, things have changed because of all the dodgy deals that were being carried out five years ago. Then there was a boom where everyone was paying homage to bankers, developers and speculators.”
He added he had no sympathy for speculators who gambled on land re-zonings and house developments.
However, his party colleagues, Cllr Austin Francis O’Malley and Johnny O’Malley earlier expressed strong concerns about public reaction to the de-zoning of residential lands back to agricultural lands.
“We put something in place five years ago and now it’s all wrong. A lot of people have invested money in this and speculated on land and now this money is all gone down the Swilly (sic),” said Cllr Austin Francis O’Malley.
Agreeing Cllr Johnny O’Malley asked ‘how can we go back out there and tell people we’ve changed our minds on [the zonings]‘. He said councillors ‘cannot be blamed’.
“These people don’t understand it’s a direction from the department. These people will have to be written to, so that it’s explained that it was the minister’s directive,” said Cllr O’Malley.
He was referring to Green Minister for the Environment’s controversial direction to Mayo County Council relating to the reversion to ‘rural character’ of zonings outside certain urban boundaries, in line with the National Spatial Strategy. 
Furthermore, the Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, Cllr Myles Staunton noted that, while he was not part of the debate about the environs plan five years ago, the economic context was clearly different now.
“Clearly all the empty houses in the different estates is a striking indicator of depopulation. There is certainly not as great a requirement as there was five years ago but we must ensure that anything we do zone is serviced adequately and within the guidelines,” said Cllr Staunton.
He advised against leaving tracts of lands zoned for residential since there will not be a lot of building carried out.
Responding, Mr Peter Hynes, Town Manager, urged that ‘the context in which the plan had to be assessed was radically different than it was five years ago’.
“The economic, political and legal contexts have all changed,” said Mr Hynes. Allaying concerns expressed by councillors, he said that ‘agricultural zoning allows residential development for family members’. Returned emigrants were also included in this provision, noted John McMyler, a Council Senior Executive Planner.
westport house
Earlier, Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Margaret Adams questioned why the pivotal development of Westport House was not included in the draft plan. She said she was ‘disappointed with the delay in the inclusion of the master-plan’ for the historic house, which is a central plank in the tourism appeal of Westport.
Responding, Peter Hynes said the executive was ‘not at the stage to incorporate the plan yet but that it should be before the council by Christmas’.