Mayo family resource group defend opposition to land sale in Westport

Westport Family and Community Resource Centre have defended their stance in opposing the sale of public green space by Mayo County Council following criticism from a local councillor.

The sale of 0.67 acres of land at Church Lane in Westport to Wyatt Hotel Limited for €675,000 was approved at yesterday's monthly meeting of Mayo County Council despite calls by some councillors to defer the sale.

A campaign against the sale of the green space was led by Westport Action for Youth and supported by the Westport Family and Community Resource Centre had resulted in a protest outside Áras an Chontae before the start of the meeting.

During the meeting, Westport councillors Peter Flynn and Brendan Mulroy criticised aspects of the campaign against the sale with Westport Family and Community Resource Centre coming in for criticism.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page in response to coverage of the meeting, Westport Family and Community Resource Centre stated that their campaign against the sale of public land to cater for the extension of the Wyatt Hotel in Westport 'reflects exactly the kind of active, engaged citizenship our Centre is here to support'.

“We are proud to show support for Westport Action for Youth, a group of parents and community members who have come together to highlight the urgent need for the redevelopment of the town playground and green area and the creation of free, inclusive community spaces in our town. This is a community-led campaign, developed and driven by local people committed to creating a vision for their shared space.

“The campaign itself reflects exactly the kind of active, engaged citizenship our Centre is here to support. Our work is grounded in the community development approach with core values of participation, empowerment, and collectivity as set out in our strategic plan and service level agreement. Participatory Democracy is a key aspect of the work of FRCs who are involved in capacity building local communities and are agents of change for our local community and wider society.

“We highlight and champion groups like Westport Action for Youth to take the lead in advocating for the kind of community they want to live in. It is imperative that all community members feel empowered to voice their opinions, ask questions, and engage in open dialogue about the future of their town. To mischaracterise this work or dismiss those involved is not only unhelpful, but it undermines the very spirit of civic participation we should all be encouraging.

“We stand with community members who engage thoughtfully, respectfully, and creatively to make Westport a better place for all. We want to thank everyone who has reached out with messages of support in response to us highlighting this issue. Your encouragement and solidarity mean a great deal,” the statement read.

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During the meeting, Westport councillor Peter Flynn who proposed the sale, stated that a Facebook post by the Centre led to a campaign of misinformation about the sale and accusations it was underhanded and shady.

“The Family Resource Centre started a campaign last week to cause this rift within our town. As Cathaoirleach of the municipal district I did not get one single call from the Family Resource Centre asking for clarification on what was planned and why we were doing it and the history behind it.

“Instead it was a social media campaign with the jungle drums running with a load of misinformation going out into the public domain. That is not the way we do business in Westport and not the way we want to do business in this county. We have to be sitting down together trying to find solutions rather than go to social media and come up with misinformation,” he said.

A motion proposed by Carrowholly-based councillor John O'Malley to defer the sale of the land to the September meeting was defeated following a vote by the councillor. Following this, a vote was taken on the proposal to dispose of the land with the councillors backing it by 22 votes to two, with the four Westport-based councillors all voting in favour.

Following the meeting, Westport Action for Youth, who proposed turning the green space into a community park posted on Facebook:

“We may be small but together we will be heard. Today was not the response or result we wanted. However we made our best effort and we know we tried for our community and our children,” the post read.