Major move proposed in Mayo to tackle housing crisis

Rural areas in Mayo that are located within commuting distances of towns may soon be open to new housing developments.

Mayo Co Council's chief executive Kevin Kelly told councillors at their monthly meeting that a workshop will shortly be arranged to discuss proposed variations to the County Development Plan.

Cllr Brendan Mulroy raised the issue at the meeting, stating that members had already called for the removal of the so-called 'imaginary line' between urban and rural areas. The arbitrary demarcation causes planning restrictions in areas that are deemed rural even though they are within a short distance of the town boundaries.

“Even the OECD commented on this restriction in relation to Westport," said Cllr Mulroy. "The imaginary line needs to be got rid of and the county as a whole and this council needs to move on it now."

Cllr Gerry Coyle agreed: “We see all these things happening with new schemes in other areas so this plan must be put in place so that everybody is welcome to build a house in the place they are from.”

Mr Kelly said the council did not intend to undertake a full review of the County Development Plan but it was planned to hold a workshop to get the views of councillors around the the removal of the old system of demarcation.

“You will need to be very clear about what it is you want to do and the reasoning and purposes in order for it to go through the process”, the chief executive told councillors. “New legislation around the review of development plans is a bit mixed and it may be extended but you do have a right to review those issues.

“The workshop is for us to be clear on what are all the issues and the changes sought. This has to be thought out and we are willing to work with you all on this.” 

Warmly welcoming the news and agreeing that councillors will need to pinpoint on the map exactly where the variation is required, Cllr Mulroy stated: “This variation by the members to remove the imaginary line will deliver a huge new area of houses to be developed across all of Mayo. As it stands, this boundary is detrimental to Mayo and if even the OECD is pointing out that rural planning is causing problems, this measure can only help ensure that schools and communities are saved and commuting distances are smaller.

“If people are allowed to leave the Westport area and go out to the country and build, Westport itself will thrive. We won’t have a housing crisis anymore, so I would hope the minster would sign off on this imaginary line variation," added Cllr Mulroy.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.