Shortage of accommodation in Mayo town leads to planning refusal
Plans to turn a former Westport gift shop into short-term rental accommodation refused due to shortage of residential accommodation
Mayo County Council have refused planning permission to turn a former gift shop in Westport into a short-term rental unit due to the shortage of available residential accommodation in Westport.
A planning application was lodged by Dr Goesta Fischer to change the use of a building known as 'The Leaping Lizard' on Bridge Street, Westport for private use and short-term rental along with a new shop front façade.
However, the application was turned down by the planning authority on the grounds that it was considered an 'inappropriate form of residential development' for the town due to the current shortage of residential accommodation.
The Leaping Lizard was a unique and intimate gift shop located in the centre of Westport, offering a wide variety of unusual and quirky items. It was proposed to convert the ground floor of the building to incorporate a bedroom and kitchen while the first floor was to consist of an en-suite bedroom.
There were no submissions objecting to the development but council planners noted a circular on short-term letting and the planning system issued by the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage in January.
They stated in the planning report that the circular advises that: “In assessing any such planning applications, planning authorities must make a planning decision on the merits of the particular application, having regard to any relevant policies set out in the local authority development plan for the area in question.”
The planners added that due to the current shortage of residential accommodation and the housing waiting list in Westport, they recommended that the application should be refused.
“Given the lack of further guidance from the government, the shortage of available residential accommodation in Westport town, and the current public housing waiting list for Westport, the Planning Authority do not consider the proposal to represent an appropriate form of development, and would adversely impact the residential amenity enjoyed by other residents in the immediate area,” the report read.
In setting out the reasons for recommending the refusal, planners also stated that the proposed development would have 'set an undesirable precedent which would impact negatively on the amenity and viability of existing and future residential developments in the town centre'.