‘A great day for Westport’ as planning granted for Mayo hotel extension
Word filtered through in Westport this morning that An Coimisiún Pleanála had granted permission for the addition of 72 rooms and underground parking to the centrally-located Wyatt Hotel.
The newly elected Cathaoirleach of Westport – Belmullet Municipal District, Cllr Brendan Mulroy, told the monthly meeting that it was great see 72 bedrooms and 108 parking spaces will be coming to Westport.
“I just want to congratulate the Kavanagh Group, Noel Kavanagh and his team. It’s a great day for Westport. It’s a great day for the district. It shows great leadership and faith in the Kavanagh family, who will invest that amount of money into Westport town,” the Westport-based Cllr said.
Cllr Peter Flynn welcomed the news and said that following on from the opening of The Grace hotel last week, “it really is a vote of confidence in Mayo.”
He went on to praise An Coimisiún Pleanála for completing the decision in four months and “for getting their act together.”
The Fine Gael public representative noted that car parking spaces are badly needed in the town and that this will allow for the nearby playground to be extended.
Cllr John O’Malley also congratulated the Kavanagh Group and described the planning permission as “a great positive for Westport and for that area.”
Having seen some of the plans, he said the project looks great and he welcomed the additional parking. The Carraholly politician also praised the work done by Mayo County Council Director of Services Joanne Grehan and head of the municipal district, Seamus O'Mongáin.
The news today comes in the same fortnight the Kavanagh Group’s Westport Supervalu officially reopened after a €4million extension and revamp.
The decision by Mayo County Council to grant planning permission for the Wyatt Hotel development was appealed in March to An Coimisiún Pleanála by Kieran Ryan of Ballinlough, Kilmeena.
Mayo County Council granted planning for the development subject to 13 conditions and while welcoming many of these conditions, Mr Ryan also felt there were three broad areas which he believed were not properly considered.
These included road safety concerns regarding what he believes is an 'unsafe' proposed new loading bay at Peter Street and 'failure to assess the road safety risks at the Leisure Centre car park exit to James Street'.
Mr Ryan also considered the Traffic and Transportation Assessment Report prepared for the application to be 'flawed' as he believes it fails to properly assess the impact of traffic exiting the proposed hotel car park via the Leisure Centre car park onto James Street.
He also addressed what he sees as the 'potential overdevelopment of hospitality' in Westport which he feels is leading to the housing crisis in the town.
However, in his report to An Coimisiún Pleanála, the planning inspector Mr Ciarán Daly, stated that he if there is an excessive amount of short-term lets in the town, he was satisfied that the residential zonings and policies of the County Development Plan are sufficient to allow this potential issue to be addressed in planning terms.
“I consider that a hotel extension of 72 bedrooms would enhance street level activity in the town centre and would provide additional custom to the town and surrounding area in a reasonably sustainable manner,” he said.
Addressing the issues of traffic, Mr Daly said he was satisfied that no significant road safety issues arise from the proposed development.
As a result of his recommendation, the Commission granted planning permisison for the proposed development subject to 13 planning conditions.
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