What it Says in the Castlebar and Mayo Papers

17th of January 2001

Connaught Telegraph

The Mayo News

The Western People

Urban Council moving out of Marsh House a front page story in The Connaught Telegraph this week.

Castlebar Urban Council is on the move. Plush new municipal buildings are to be built by the authority on the site of the former County Cinema at Spencer Street in the town. The move will result in all staff moving out of the dilapidated Marsh House at Newtown. However, elected members of the council want the historic building retained in the ownership of the authority and used as a museum or tourist office. Mr. Alec Fleming, assistant county manager, said once the cinema was demolished, the streetscape would be restored by providing an arched entrance to the new Spencer Street car park and building new civic offices. He said "It is desirable to bring all local authority staff involved with Castlebar under the one roof. That's what the public expects. We are restricted from doing so here at Marsh House because of the limited space. Marsh House is also a listed building and we are limited in what we can do with it. At Spencer Street, we will have more than enough space. It will also give Castlebar civic buildings befitting a growing town" he stated.

Dispute resolved as new Post Office opens The Connaught Telegraph this week.

A dispute, which stopped clerical staff at Castlebar Post Office moving to new premises in the town, has been resolved. Postal services have relocated from the century-old headquarters at Mountain View to newly completed buildings at Dunnes Stores link road - almost two months behind schedule. The transfer did not proceed last November because An Post refused to pay compensation to members of the Castlebar Postal Branch of the Communication Workers Union for re-location. A number of other issues were also at the centre of the dispute, including the lack of adequate staff car parking. The issues have now been resolved and 11 clerical staff have been running the new post office for over a week. The old premises at Mountain View are being retained as a parcel centre.

New £3m. swimming pool to get the nodThe Connaught Telegraph this week.

A new £3m. indoor swimming pool is to be built in Castlebar, it has been confirmed. The facility will be constructed on the grounds of the Lough Lannagh Holiday Village, as revealed by the Connaught Telegraph a number of months ago. Mr. Alec Fleming informed a meeting of the Local Urban Council that a decision had been made to proceed with the new pool. Proposals to provide a children's playground in the vicinity are also going ahead. Responding to a question posed by Mr. Blackie Gavin, he said, "It looks like the new pool will proceed, but it will come with a price tag. Plans to upgrade the existing pool at Swimming Pool Road will be scrapped."

£11 million airport fund to open shortlyThe Mayo News this week.

The Department of Public Enterprise will shortly be seeking proposals from regional airports on how the £11 million fund should be spent on their further development, Minister O'Rourke has stated. This money, she said, was on top of the £30 million that was being spent by the state in the next three years on essential air services programmes between regional airports and Dublin. The Minister was speaking at the formal launch in Knock Airport of the new daily flights between Dublin and the Mayo airport. The Minister said "Regional air funding does not end with routes. Under the National Development Plan the Government has provided £11 million. My Department will be asking regional airports in the coming weeks for their proposals. These priority investment needs will be considered for funding over the period 2000-2006". Announcing the new daily scheduled flight between Knock and Dublin, the Minister said that the £4 million State funding of the route underlined the Government's commitment to regional policy. The money was part of the £30 million earmarked over the next three years for flights between Dublin and regional airports in Kerry, Galway, Knock, Sligo, Donegal and Derry.

People of Castlebar urged to get involved in Town Development Plan The Mayo News.

The Draft Development Plan for Castlebar, which outlines the proposed development plan for the town over the next twenty years, will be on display to the public between now and the 15th of May 2001. Assistant County Manager, Alec Fleming, emphasized to Castlebar U.D.C. councillors that the plan is a draft plan only, drawn up by consultants in association with Mayo County Council, and is not written in stone. The plan encompasses proposed routes for new roads around the town in addition to highlighting listed buildings, industrial, residential and commercial zones and green field areas and leisure facilities. It is on display at Castlebar County Library, Marsh House Castlebar and Aras an Chontae. An open day at the Lough Lannagh Centre will also be arranged at a later date. "The most important thing now is to get the public consultation going. There will be changes made to this plan which will be made by councillors, acting on behalf of the people. The council should get very much involved in getting people to comment on the plan" he said. Mr. Fleming added that the council was under extreme pressure at the moment just trying to meet the infrastructural development needs for Castlebar, which is growing at a tremendous rate and is the second fastest growing town in the country.

Revamp for old monastery buildingThe Mayo News this week.

A major refurbishment of the old St. Patrick's Monastery in Castlebar - former home of over a century of the De La Salle brothers - is to be undertaken out of parish funds. The distinctive building, now a listed building, was built in 1888 by the then Parish Priest, Canon Lyons, for the newly arrived order of Brothers at the Boys' National School. Last year saw the end of an era with the departure from the town of the last three remaining De La Salle brothers, leaving the monastery vacant. It is now proposed to carry out major repair and improvement work on the building, which will then become a residence for the chaplains attached to the local hospitals and to the GMIT campus.

New Knock warehouse facility boosts freight The Western People this week.

Following on the heels of a new daily Aer Arann service between Knock and Dublin Airport, Knock Cargo Handling (KCH) Ltd. has announced that its new 20,000 sq. ft customs bonded cargo warehouse facility at Knock International Airport will open in February. Due to the nature of the freight/warehousing business KCH Ltd. will only employ a small number of people from February but General Manager Mr. Winfried Eamon Scheidges stressed that the new warehouse will generate a lot of business for local freight and transport companies adding that they also hoped to take on additional employees at the warehouse later. Knock Cargo Handling Ltd. aim to provide a one stop logistic solution for their clients by developing a logistic infrastructure that will, in the long-term, attract transatlantic aircargo operators to Knock. "Once the local freight infra-structure is developed further we expect to be able to offer a realistic hub alternative to aircargo operators for their transatlantic operations", Mr. Scheidges explained. A delay of more than one or even two days to get cargo released out of Heathrow airport for transit in Ireland in nothing unusual. KCH's aim is to reverse the cargo flow and have air carriers use Knock as their European cargo hub and then utilise the then developed domestic road freight structure to deliver airfreight by road to the UK and Europe. Mr. Scheidges continued "We are working with Aer Arann in co-ordinating an express cargo courier link for a parcel service on the new Knock-Dublin route starting on January the 18th. This will allow local exporters and importers to meet tight deadlines and connections. In the short-term, through the KCH team network operations of Tracco Logistics Knock Ltd., we aim to offer a dedicated, comprehensive logistic operation with warehousing, storage and handling as its current main focus," he concluded.

120 jobs as Tesco Ireland comes to CastlebarThe Western People this Tuesday.

Tesco Ireland will open its $8 million 30,000-sq. ft. supermarket off Market Square on Monday, February 26th. The ultra modern store features all the latest in supermarket shop design. The store will create employment for up to 120 people and is the second major investment by Tesco Ireland in Mayo as they already have a refurbished store in Ballina employing more than sixty staff.

Islands get E.S.B. connection The Western People this week.

Minister Eamonn O'Cuiv visited four Mayo islands last week to celebrate the completion of projects which have been funded by his Department. The Minister opened a new road on Inishcuttle and Inishnakillew and also switched on the electricity supply to both Insegort and Inishlyre. Senator Frank Chambers said "The completion of these projects is an indication of the government commitment to improving the infrastructure of the islands of Clew Bay. This Fianna Fáil government is committed to the development of the offshore islands."

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