Objection costs Castlebar €9m hotel project
Harlequin Developments Ltd have withdrawn their proposal to build a 66-bedroom hotel at the rear of the Travellers Friend Hotel because of an objection by the North Western Regional Fisheries Board. The plan of the 66-bedroom hotel was accompanied by a plan to develop a multi-storey carpark with 300 spaces and some retail spaces also. This is not the only hotel development plan the North Western Regional Fisheries Board are objecting to. The proposal for a 108-bedroom hotel complete with a leisure centre and swimming pool on the Ballinrobe road has also been objected to. The €15m proposal has not been with drawn by Saleen Development Ltd so far. The objections by the North Western Regional Fisheries Board to deny the Castlebar area two hotels, which would help boost tourism in the town, are part of their campaign to highlight the inadequacies in the sewerage treatment plant in Castlebar as seen by the North Western Regional Fisheries Board.

New Castlebar/Westport road should have gas duct
It has been suggested by Deputy Enda Kenny that the new road from Castlebar to Westport should "include provision for a gas duct" for when Corrib Gas finally arrives. Deputy Kenny also suggests that the road should also have a cycle lane as the area of Westport is one of the major tourist resorts in the country and cycling has become a major leisure and health pursuit.

Campaign for anti-crime cameras escalates
The campaign to have CCTV cameras installed in Castlebar is to be escalated. Memebers of Castlebar Town Council are seeking to have a system put in place as a deterrent to criminal activities. Evidence would seem to suggest that crime levels fell in towns where these cameras were installed.