Castlebar councillors accused of ‘shocking dereliction of duty’ over local area plan

A local election candidate for the Castlebar Electoral Area has accused the sitting county councillors of a ‘shocking dereliction of duty’ after the Office of The Planning Regulator asked for a number of adjustments to the Castlebar Local Area Plan.

The Office of The Planning Regulator has taken issue with a number of sites zoned as ‘new residential in peripheral and non-sequential locations, and predominantly outside the CSO boundary of the town’.

In a letter to the Castlebar Municipal District, Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien TD, has said that local area plan is not compliant with national guidelines or the existing Mayo County Development Plan.

The minister expressed concern that allowing housing development on such land would be difficult to provide with public transport and other services.

Concern was also expressed regarding the zoning of land on flood plains.

Reacting to the letter from the minister, local election candidate Harry Barrett said local councillors were guilty of ‘a shocking dereliction of duty’.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Mr Barrett – who is running as an Independent – said the plan adopted by the Castlebar Municipal District would not address vacancy and dereliction in the town.

“There must be over 50 acres of land in Castlebar that lies there, unused and undeveloped. This is before we even talk about derelict sites in the town,” said Mr Barrett.

“The planners want Castlebar Municipal District to develop the land they have in that town area, they want them to compact development like building over shops on the Main Street and to deal with the shocking levels of dereliction and land vacancy that they have failed to act upon.

“They have hauled them over the coals for zoning land in a piecemeal and ad hoc fashion with no regard as to how young families, forced out if town, on random sites, can access transport links, footpaths.”

Local Independent county councillor Michael Kilcoyne told the plan was adopted to reflect the views of and submission so local people.

“I haven’t finalised my view on some of the things that he’s [Minister O’Brien] is saying, but my view is we should be zoning land everywhere we can around the area,” Cllr Kilcoyne told The Mayo News.

Cllr Kilcoyne said that he would not be taking ‘any direction’ from Minister O’Brien regarding the provisions in the Castlebar Local Area Plan.

“There is little point in us doing a development plan and reflecting the views of the people of the district and the people that went through the trouble of making submissions…to develop the town and build houses and industry and all of the rest, and they are saying to us ‘no yee can’t do that yee are zoning too much land for development’ and that kind of stuff,” he said.

“We need to meet and consider it, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m not taking any direction from the minister. He can overrule me if he wants, he can sack me if he wants, it’s up to him.

“This is the policy of government, having all of the people living as close as possible in the centre and the rest of the countryside to be green area and for people who wants to come and see the trees growing and all that kind of stuff.”

The matter is likely to be discussed further by councillors at this month’s meeting of Castlebar Municipal District.