Council planners causing frustration for Mayo councillors

Mayo county councillors have expressed their frustration with the planning process.

“What does a guy have to do, a lady have to do, a family have to do, to get planning permission in this county?” asked Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne at last week's meeting.

Cllr Kilcoyne cited a recent example where planning permission in a town was rejected because the applicants were 500 metres outside “this imaginary boundary”. 

“Mayo Co Council is saying, ‘You cannot build here, move on.’ This needs to be sorted out. There are people living in overcrowded conditions who own their own site and the council refuses them planning permission. That’s not good enough. It’s just not acceptable."

He said the Government recently gave approval for a vacant homes officer in each local authority.

“Each local authority appointed one. Except who? Mayo Co Council. They put in an acting one,” said Cllr Kilcoyne.

Cllr Gerry Coyle highlighted an Erris case and the huge sums of money involved when it comes to the planning process in the county.

“€5,396 for the engineering to the planning. A follow-up request from Mayo Co Council, more semi-useless information was €1,200. An Article Six map for the council €500, the trial hole inspection €600, the area connection €3,500, and the contribution to Mayo County Council €3,500. Is that the way we are treating people?" asked Cllr Coyle. “And we wonder why there is a housing crisis. The housing crisis is not caused by people having second homes."

Cllr Coyle also told council officials "not to be blaming Government departments".

Cllr Annie May Reape said councillors are inundated with calls from people without a roof over their heads due to the housing crisis. She said she spent hours trying to secure accommodation for a Ballina constituent and her children recently, only to be told the nearest available place for her to stay was in Glenamaddy, Co Galway. 

"I was in shock, to say the least," said Cllr Reape