Chief Whip Pat Carey to replace O'Dea?

Is Pat Carey TD, pictured above going to replace Willie O'Dea, pictured here

Golf Course Road go-ahead

Golf Course Road resident and Leas Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, Cllr Keith Martin, has warmly welcomed the signing of the contract for the new public park on the site of the Bog Field.  The new park on the Golf  Course Road will provide a playing pitch, a park area and cycling and walk way. 

According to Cllr Martin, "This is great news for the area and not before time, the children and residents of the area will greatly benefit from having a safe area to exercise and play.  The park will be completed to the highest standards and is only possible due to the sale of a portion of the area to provide a site for the new Gaelscoil building.

"This is only the first stage of the project, later stages will see two play-areas for children, and the final stage of two basketball/volleyball parks will be realised when the Gaelscoil is completed.

"This is great news and this park will set the model for areas like the Quay and will greatly add to the quality of life in our town.  I have supported this project from the beginning and I am delighted at the progress made.  An official sod-turning ceremony will take place shortly."

Wait continues for Westport Gaelscoil

Westport's Gaelscoil is to begin construction at its new site on the Golf Course Road sometime between April and June of this year according to Minister for Education and Science's Batt O'Keeffe.  This is despite the school's non appearance on the Departments' Schools Building Project list for 2010.

 

Minister O'Keeffe was responding to a Parliamentary Question posed in the Dail by Labour's Education Spokesperson Ruairi Quinn at the request of Westport Town Councillor Keith Martin.

 

According to Minister O'Keeffe "The project to which the Deputy refers was recently tendered. The Design Team is currently addressing a number of post tender clarifications with the preferred bidder. When this process is complete and assuming that no further issues arise the project will proceed to construction. It is anticipated that the project will commence construction in Quarter 2 of 2010."

 

Cllr Martin who has long been an advocate for the school and who famously posted back a sod turned by Minister O'Keeffe on the school's site in the run up to last year's local election says he is adopting a "wait and see" approach to the Minister's promises.

 

According to Cllr Martin "This school has been promised for too long and too many promises have already been broken for me to take this news at face value.  The school has been waiting almost 15 years for a building of its own.  It has proved its success and the pupils and staff deserve their much promised building.

 

"However the story of this school is a series of disappointments by Government.  The school was promised in early 2006 with a delivery date of mid-2007.  It remained in planning limbo for two more years until out of the blue in May 2009 Batt O'Keeffe and Beverly Flynn fly into Westport accompanied by local FF councilors to throw a sod in the air!

 

That sod soon landed with a thud back on the Minister's desk when I posted it back to him.  Its ten months since he threw the sod and there's still no school.  I take the Minister's latest commitment with a tablespoon of salt!  No-one will be happier than I to see that school begin construction but I'm not holding my breath."

--
Faithfully

Cllr Keith Martin
086 0691182

Observation on planning application …………………

 

Date 27/01/2010 17:34:08

 

Cllr Keith Martin, Westport Town Council, 33 Pairc na Coille, Westport, Co. Mayo

 

 

2 Pages and 2 Maps
I would like to make the following observations in relation to this application

 

1.1

That there are serious infrastructural problems in this area such as no pedestrian pathways, a very poor road surface, the service road narrows to one lane in places and there is very poor water pressure in the area.

 

1.2

That this woods is listed as a protected woodland in the 2003 Town Development Plan

 

1.3

That this woods is listed as a protected woodland in the soon to be finalised 2009 Town Development Plan

 

1.4

That this woods is listed as a local bio-diversity area in the soon to be finalised 2009 Town Development Plan

 

1.5

That the area is to be zoned K Woodland in the soon to be finalised 2009 Town Development Plan (under this zoning a nursing home would be prohibited under the K Woodland Matrix)

 

1.6

That this development would impact of the Town's skyline in a very detrimental manner

 

1.7

That a woodland has been in situ in this exact same site for at least 172 years.  Attached are copies of the Ordance Survey 1838 map and a more recent Google Earth satellite photo of the woods which shows its occupies exactly the same boundaries.

 

1.8

This plan does not take into account how far from the town centre and inaccessible such as nursing home would be for its residents, where unlike the residents of the town's existing nursing home, the MacBride Home, they would not be within walking distance of the shops, churches or library.  Residents would be isolated and reliant on motorised transport to take them in and out of town.

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Faithfully

Cllr Keith Martin
086 0691182

Letter to the Editor

Letter regarding controversy over Colonel's Wood

 33 Pairc na Coille

Westport

Co. Mayo

 

January 23, 2010

 

Dear Editor,

 

I would like to add my voice and support to the campaign against the building of a nursing home in Colonel's Wood.

Anyone who will have studied the plans, as I have, and taken them into the context of the wood's location, history and potential will clearly conclude, as I have, that it is the case of the right idea in the wrong location.

There can be no doubt that Westport needs an additional nursing home so that people from Westport can avail of that kind of care, yet still live in their own area.  Already, there are cases of those in need of nursing home care in Westport, who have to take beds in places as far away as Ballinrobe, far from their families, friends and homes.

But the location and design of what is proposed for Knockranny's Colonel's Wood is wrong on several counts, for example knocking down a large area of woodland to make space for a nursing home is wrong, considering a wood has been on that location for at least 172 years, also the deforestation would effect the skyline of the area and there are serious infrastructural problems associated with the area such as road and pedestrian access, traffic control and water pressure. 

This plan does not take into account how far from the town centre and inaccessible such as nursing home would be for its residents, where unlike the residents of the MacBride Home, they would not be within walking distance of the shops, churches or library.  Residents would be isolated and reliant on motorised transport to take them in and out of town.

Finally the design and layout of the home and its car park are reminiscent of Hitler's Furher-Bunker or his Alpine Wolf's Lair retreat, as the nursing home and car park are to be hacked into a hillside with huge 2 and 3 storey retaining walls to ensure their foundations and are designed to remain completely isolated from the town and community around it.  All that is missing is some camouflage netting and anti aircraft guns to complete the illusion.

This nursing home application is not the result of careful consideration and planning by the owners of the wood but rather is a rushed effort to take advantage of the now extinguished tax breaks for nursing homes.  

Colonel's Wood should only be developed where by such development enables a better enjoyment of the woodland for all and which makes the wood a greater asset for the town. I appeal to Coilte to withdraw this application and to enter into a public discussion on the future of the woods.

To this end as part of the process of drawing up the new Town Development Plan, which will come into effect shortly, I proposed the zoning of Colonel's Wood as "K" Woodland (which does not allow the development of Nursing Homes, Holiday homes or Hotels) and included in my motion was a special objective for the area, which is written as follows, that, "any development at Colonel's Wood would be subject to a design brief agreed by the elected members (ie Councillors) and following a period of public consultation, the design brief would be brought before the Council for final agreement.  If ratified, a binding agreement would be entered into with Coilte". 

The zoning and special objective, which I proposed, ensures a partnership approach between all parties for the proper development of the area and was seconded by Cllr Ollie Gannon and received the support of the Cathaoirleach Cllr Staunton and Cllrs Hyland, McLaughlin and McGuire. 

It is my hope that the current application for the nursing home is refused and that we can then proceed with "partnership" approach to the future of Colonel's Wood in the best interests of all stakeholders and concerned parties as outlined in my motion.

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

Cllr Keith Martin

Leas Cathaoirleach

Westport Town Council

FF starts infighting,

The rats have left left the sinking ship, now those remaining are starting to attack each other.

MAYO FIANNA FAIL DEPUTY BEVERLEY FLYNN HAS ACCUSED HER COLLEAGUE THE JUNIOR MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE TONY KILLEEN OF MISCHIEF MAKING IN RELATION TO THE RETENTION OF THE TEAGASC OFFICE IN WESTPORT.
DEPUTY FLYNN MADE THE COMMENTS AFTER SHE SPOKE ON THE CLOSURE OF THE TEAGASC OFFICE IN CASTLEBAR ON THE DAIL ADJOURNMENT LAST NIGHT. DEPUTY FLYNN SAYS THAT THE MINISTER SPOKE ON THE CLOSURE OF THE OFFICE IN CASTLEBAR AND MADE COMMENTS IN RELATION TO THE IMPACT THAT WOULD HAVE ON THE WESTPORT OFFICE AND MAY LEAD TO IT’S CLOSURE ALSO.
DEPUTY FLYNN SAYS THAT THIS WAS MISCHIEF MAKING ON THE MINISTER’S BEHALF AND THAT SHE HAS RECEIVED ASSURANCES FROM THE BOARD OF TEAGASC THAT THE WESTPORT OFFICE IS NOT UNDER THREAT DUE TO THE HINTERLAND IT SERVES.


-- Post From My iPhone

Best Christmas Present!

I am delighted at the result, it's the best Christmas present I could have hoped for.  It has been a long and stressful three months in limbo but it is great to be back in my rightful place as Councillor and Leas Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council.

 

I would like to thank Helena Boylan and Co and Mr John Jordan BL for their hard work, good counsel and professionalism.

 

I would like to thank the Cathaoirleach Cllr Myles Staunton and my council colleagues for their support and solidarity with me over the last couple of months.

 

I would like to thank all those supporters and well wishers who stuck with me over the three months but I would most like to thank all those who voted for me in June and whose voice was silenced for the last three months.

 

Their voice will be heard once more in the chamber and it will be heard loud and clear as the council conducts its business.

 

I would also like to thank my family for all their support.

 

I am delighted to be back in time to help finalise the Town Plan for the coming five years and to see out 2009 as a councillor and as Leas Cathaoirleach.

 

It is an honour to serve the people on Westport Town Council and I look forward to the next four and a half years of service.  There are tough times ahead but I will be part of the solution not the problem.

 

I bear no grudge or malice towards anyone; the officials involved were only following the rule of law to its conclusion.  It is the law itself with which I take issue and I intend raising my situation with the Law Reform Commission in the New Year. 

 

No councillor should be removed from office with the stroke of a pen for being late for paperwork, no-one should be presumed guilty and required to go to court to clear their name and no punishment should be so disproportion to the offence.

 

This is contrary to natural justice and the Irish sense of fair play and I am determined to have the law changed so that no one else goes to through the stress, expense and undemocratic and unfair procedure that I have had to face since September.

--
Faithfully

Cllr Keith Martin
086 0691182