Mayo hotel development will not benefit people of Westport claims objector

MAYO County Council should 'recuse' itself from adjudicating on a planning decision regarding the extension of the Wyatt Hotel in Westport as there is a conflict of interest according to an objector.

The Wyatt Hotel Unlimited located on the Octagon in Westport applied for planning permission in October to develop a three storey extension over a semi-basement car park to the rear and sides of the existing hotel with a total gross floor area of 5,333 square metres. 

The development will comprise 72 additional bedrooms including altering some existing bedrooms, as well as 88 new basement car park spaces, and 20 new public car park spaces at surface level off Church Street. 

Part of the development will be located on lands off Church Street behind the Westport Leisure Centre which was owned by Mayo County Council and was controversially sold to the Wyatt Hotel for €675,000.

In a submission to Mayo County Council, Kieran Ryan of Ballinlough, Kilmeena claimed that as a result of this transaction there was a conflict of interest and the local authority should not be involved in the planning decision. 

“I do not think Mayo County Council can be seen to be an objective party to this planning application, and it should refer the application to an alternative competent authority, such as An Coimisiún Pleanála,” he stated in his submission. 

In July, members of Mayo County Council passed a motion at the monthly meeting to dispose of 0.67 acres of land at Church Lane in Westport to the owners of the hotel despite calls from some councillors to defer the purchase.

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The decision was deemed controversial at the time as 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 which resulted in a protest outside Áras an Chontae before the start of the meeting.

Referring to this Mr Ryan claimed there was nothing exceptional about the proposed development that would need for the removal of green space in the town.

“In a time of concurrent and interrelated climate and biodiversity crises, there must be exceptional merit to a project like this to warrant the removal of green space in Westport town centre. There is nothing exceptional about this proposed development, and its construction would bring no wider benefit to Westport or its people.”

Mr Ryan also claimed during the submission that there was an 'overdevelopment of hospitality' in Westport and this was resulting in a housing crisis. 

“We are witnessing the overdevelopment of hospitality in Westport, resulting in a severe imbalance in the town’s development, to the point that it has primarily become a place to visit, rather than a place to live in. 

“Every week on the local Westport Facebook group you can see posts from people begging for any sort of accommodation in Westport. This includes people who are employed in full-time positions in some of the larger employers in the town. People simply cannot get accommodation, even the people on substantial full-time incomes,” he stated.

Mr Ryan also made a number of observations including claims that the proposed development will have an impact on traffic flow and claims that it does not align with the Westport Local Area Plan or the Westport Local Transport Plan.

In the planning application lodged by Cox Power Architects on behalf of the Wyatt Hotel stated that it is expected that the new development will create an additional 35 new jobs to the hotel and 'will substantially increase the number of visitors and footfall in the town benefitting commercial, cultural, sporting and leisure activities for all'.

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made by council planners later this month.