Call for safety works after car crashed into hairdressers in Mayo town
Cllr Peter Flynn said it was fortunate nobody was killed or injured in the incident.
There was good news for councillors in Westport last week following a long campaign to have resurfacing and remedial works carried out in public carparks in the town.
Council official Seamus O'Mongáin told members of Westport Belmullet Municipal District at their monthly meeting that Mayo Co Council has a budget to carry out works on the carparks during 2025.
"We are releasing a tender regarding James St carpark in the coming weeks, with work to be completed hopefully by Easter. The budget will then allow us to carry out some of the works on the High St/Mill St carparks and we will progress thereafter.”
The news was welcomed by Fine Gael Cllr Peter Flynn who said a car had "gone through" a hairdresser's shop in the Mill Street carpark since this was raised at the last meeting.
"Fortunately, nobody was hurt and we are not having a very different meeting because of that today, but 13 people are off work because of it and we need a short-term solution straight away.
“This is the frustration we are dealing with for a number of years now. There is substantial flooding in the James St carpark so you can’t park there in wet weather, while in the one in Mill Street, the surface is probably what you would find in a war-torn country and there are no barriers to stop cars going down onto the lower level and there are also entrance and exit issues.
"Compared with other carparks around the county we are Third World, so I welcome this news, it is at least a step forward but it is only part-funding and I ask we look for 2026 funding also so that we don’t go down the road of piecemeal work that will ultimately put people at risk.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr Brendan Mulroy welcomed “the compromise we have today” saying at least there was a clear plan. However, regarding the car crashing into the hairdresser business in Mill Street, he said: “That building and the near disaster we had there is among a number of planned buildings on the side of a hill. We need to look at planning on such developments because a footpath at least should have been put in place, but having a glass window there, anyone with reason would know it would create a problem down the line. So I second Cllr Flynn on that basis that all the Westport carparks be done up to the same standard as in any other town.”
