The new draft design statement for Mulranny village was given a very positive welcome by the elected members of the Belmullet electoral area committee this week. Heritage officer for Mayo County Council, Deirdre Cunningham, gave the members a presentation on the draft statement telling the members that the plan was to protect and enhance the natural environment and character of the village. She also told them that there was a large amount of community involvement in the process so far, with a public workshop being held in October of last year where members of the public were asked to come in and give their views on what direction the design statement should take.
Sinn Féin councillor Rose Conway-Walsh welcomed the statement. “I think this is a really good idea and the way forward for other areas too,” she said. “What I’m really happy about is the amount of public consultation that went into it. It’s good that everyone was asked to come along and have their say and have their views taken on board. The potential for Mulranny to be developed properly has never been explored properly and this is a big step towards that. The only disappointment I would have about the area is the number of houses that are empty or vacant for most of the year.”
Independent councillor Michael Holmes added: “It’s a wonderful plan, it’s a village that has potential to do so much and it’s in a great location. The new greenway has really put Mulranny on the map over the past few years and opened it up to people and hopefully this will bring it on more.”
Fine Gael councillor Gerry Coyle said: “To tell you the truth, I never much stopped off in Mulranny until recently. But when I did, I could see it was a fabulous village. If there is anything that we can do to get people to stop off there and have a look around or stay we should. Cllr Holmes is right about the greenway, that has done a huge job in opening it up to people.”
The draft statement was passed by the committee and it will go out to public consultation for another six weeks before being brought before a full meeting of Mayo County Council for approval.
