Submissions on Town Plan

There is a little time left to make submissions on the upcoming Westport Town Development Plan. The deadline for this is the 1st October. I have sent the following Press Release into the local media on the issue and I hope this will trigger a good public interaction on the issue. There are plenty of issues like the Bank of Ireland Garden and Skateboard parks and the conservation of the history of our town to be dealt with and I want everyone to have their say.

I was checking on other towns and it seems that Longford and other towns actually hold meetings on this issue. I have always proposed public meetings on this time of issue. It is too late for Westport but we should definately look at it for the next town plan.

Controversial issues like the use of the Bank of Ireland Garden as a town park, the provision of land for skateboard parks and community facilities and the return of the Point as a swimming area are all issues that Labour’s Keith Martin has raised in his submission on the new Westport Town Plan which will be drawn up over the next couple of months.
Cllr Martin has warned that the citizens of Westport only have until the 1st October to make a submission on the new Town Plan which will be drawn up over the next couple of months.
Cllr Martin says “This is the time for the people of Westport to have their say in how they want their town developed. The Town Plan affects everything from traffic and shopping to land zoning and use.”
Cllr Martin has himself made a detailed submission calling for the redevelopment of the Quay as a swimming area and for the zoning of the Bank of Ireland Garden as a recreational area.
“I have also called for an end to one and two bedroom houses and apartments in favour of family friendly units of 3 and 4 bedrooms and that a suitable area of land be identified for zoning for community facilities and a community building and park area be put in place for the Quay area along the lines of the Golf Course Road scheme.
The Planning and Development Act, 2000, states that each Planning Authority is obliged to prepare a Development Plan for its functional area every six years.
The aim of the Plan is to set out a framework for the sustainable physical development of the Town, while ensuring the conservation and protection of the built and natural environment. It also aims to carefully consider the needs of all groups and individuals within the Town and to promote equal opportunities.
The October 1st deadline marks the end of the first round of consultation and is the basis for the Draft Development Plan which will be drawn up as a response to the submissions made before October 1st.
Cllr Martin concludes “The Town Plan is the single most important document in the town’s management and the people of Westport should be very involved in the process. The Westport Branch of the Labour Party have also made a submission and I would urge individuals and groups to have their say. Like voting, your voice won’t be heard unless you use it. If people are concerned about things like the Bank of Ireland Garden and recreational land and facilities for our children then now is the time to make your voice heard.”
Submissions must be submitted to Ann Moore, Town Clerk, Westport Town Council or e-mailed to amoore@mayococo.ie before the deadline.

Here is a press release I am sending out on the Quay Hill Pavement which is being repaired.  I can only say how delighted I am that all my work on the issue has paid off.  I was criticised by others for making a fuss in the local and national media (I was on the Matt Cooper Show) over the state of the path and the very long time it took to repair it but I have been vindicated in the end. The Path is repaired at last.

 

Thanks to all who offered their support and to those who offered to help me with the cement and the work.  Cheers!

 

Welcome for Quay Hill Pavement Repairs

 

Repairs are underway on Westport's street of shame, as the Quay Hill Pavement was dubbed by Cllr Keith Martin earlier in the year and they have been very warmly welcomed by the Labour councillor who dramatically championed the issue of repairs to the pavement.

 

Cllr Martin made the state of the pavement a major issue of the summer when he submitted to Mayo County Council Officials 18 photographs of 18 separate potholes on the pavement and threatened to repair the street himself if Mayo County Council did not take action.  At the time Cllr Martin threatened to "mix the cement myself and fill in the holes" adding that he intended to shame the council into action or to carry out the works myself."

 

At the time Cllr Martin claimed, "Whole sections of the concrete pavement had sunk down up to three inches and elsewhere along the path the curbing has crumbled away. The tarmacadam covered section of the path has actually been worn away down to the stone chips underneath."

 

According to Cllr Keith Martin "Mayo County Council staff began work on the pavements this week and are making excellent progress.  The Quay Hill Pavement is one of the most important pedestrian links in the town and is vital in connecting the Town with the Quay.  This has been a major issue for the town for too long and I am glad to see it come to a very satisfactory conclusion."

This is a copy of a press release I have just sent out to the Mayo media.  It relates to John Gormley's proposals to reform Local Government.  I think it is important that everyone in Mayo, indeed Ireland, express an opinion on how they want their Local Authorities to be run. 

 

Mayo must call for Local Government reforms

 

Cllr Keith Martin is encouraging the citizens of Mayo to take part in the review of Local Government, which was launched recently by the Minister of the Environment John Gormley TD.

 

The reform programme is already underway with the Minister requesting submissions from the general public and interested bodies, which will feed into a Green Paper on local government reform, to be published in the next six months. That Green Paper will outline the various reform options to be considered on how local authorities operate.

 

The Labour Party councillor has already made a submission to the Dept of Environment and is urging the voters of Mayo to do the same.  "I believe that the best government is the government which takes place at the lowest possible and realistic level.  I believe reform of local government is vital and the people of Mayo have got to make their voice heard in this issue.  Stronger local government will mean more services are delivered locally and not as hand-outs from Dublin.  I believe it is time to end Local Administration and time to begin real Local Government where the people pick their decision makers and those decision makers are answerable to the public."

 

In his submission to Minister Gormley's Office Cllr Martin is calling for abolition of the County/City/Town Manager position and its replacement by Chief Executive who would advise the council and execute the council's policy.

 

Cllr Martin's submission also goes to call for the introduction of Directly-elected Mayors for all local authorities.  This office would carry with it responsibility for most decisions in association with a small cabinet of councillors.

 

According to Cllr Martin "We must also strengthen the role of the elected council, in order to provide the citizen with accountable public services. Councillors must the have power to seek accountability from any agency, whether public or private, which is providing public services in their area.

 

"The benefits of a directly-elected mayor at town/city/county level are many such as visible and accountable leadership and are likely to be powerful leaders by nature.  Directly elected Mayors also open up politics to civic leaders and business people and will wield 'clout' on behalf of their authority with national government and other public and private bodies.  Finally transparency of election and high visibility of the directly-elected Mayor would lead to less corruption, not more."

 

Cllr Martin concludes his submission by saying "we need to give authorities directly elected mayors with a mandate and vision for their town's future,  we need to give councillors more powers to effect change and policy and remove the role of officials from policy and let mayors make the day to day decisions based on advice from their officials."

 

According to Minister Gormley "Local councils have traditionally provided the public with key basic services, from roads and water to housing and waste management. Their role has expanded in recent years to cover a huge range of functions to proactively build communities, promote tourism, drive economic development and pursue social inclusion. I want to hear from the citizen, the customer of the local council, on how they think the local government service can be improved."

 

Submissions should be sent to Eoin Corrigan at the Local Government Project Development , Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Custom House, Dublin 1 or by email to eoin_corrigan@environ.ie

 

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