Proposal for sale of Mayo hotel to come before Council today

A proposal for the sale of the Imperial Hotel and the adjoining Glenpark building to a developer to turn the premises into a 44-bedroom commercial hotel will come before a meeting of Mayo County Council today - Monday, December 9.

Councillors from the Castlebar Municipal District noted the Section 183 agreement proposing the disposal of the two properties for a figure of €700,000 to hoteliers Joe Egan and PJ Staid at a meeting held in Balla last Thursday.

The Imperial Hotel was first opened in 1785 and was purchased by the Council in 2011 but has not been in use since.

The adjoining Glenpark building currently houses the Motor Tax office and National Roads Design Office (NRDO) and was purchased by the Council in 1999 for £787,000.

As part of the proposed agreement, the Imperial Hotel would be first renovated into a 22-bedroom hotel before expanding into the Glenpark building and becoming a 44-bedroom hotel. Planning permission will need to be applied for and the developer must take the historic nature of the Imperial Hotel, which is where the Land League was founded in 1879, into account.

Mayo County Council will have an option to re-purchase the premises back from the developer for a fee no greater than the sale price should a certain period of time pass by.

The topic once again provoked debate from councillors.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said it was sad what happened to the building over the years and said it should have been used to commemorate Michael Davitt. He also expressed concern there was no plan in place as of yet to accommodate staff from the Motor Tax or NRDO office elsewhere.

Cllr Blackie Gavin said it was a disgrace that ‘not one Euro’ of Urban Regeneration and Development Funding earmarked for the Imperial was ever spent. He said he was concerned the town may lose the Motor Tax office and the NRDO.

Cllr Harry Barrett said he was concerned that the Council were ‘flying blind on finances’ and wanted greater assurances that the purchasers had the ‘financial firepower’ to finish the job.

However, Cllr Al McDonnell said it was one of the most exciting proposals he had seen during his time in politics and hoped the hotel could return to its glory days of ‘lamb stew’ in the restaurant.

Cllr Ger Deere said the town was crying out for a hotel and this proposal would give a huge uplift to the Mall area.

Cllr Donna Sheridan said she believed from talking to the people of Castlebar that a hotel would be of greater benefit to the town at this location than a working hub or civic office.

Director of Services Catherine McConnell said the staff in the Motor Tax and NRDO office were made aware of the proposed plans well in advance of this and discussions are ongoing about where they will be accommodated when and if the purchase proceeds.

The item will come before the main Council meeting on Monday where councillors will have an opportunity to accept or reject the Section 183 proposal. Also to be discussed is a Section 183 proposal to sell a section of the Castlebar Military Barracks to the MSLETB for a state-of-the-art educational campus.