Search Results for 'Joe Loftus'

A radical re-examination of everything that takes place in Mayo County Council is currently underway in a bid to turn the authority into a lean, mean, cost-effective operating machine.

Committee members of the cultural, education, heritage, and corporate affairs SPC have formulated a policy recommending Mayo County Council to link a number of different significant and important sites through road networks from various access points throughout the county.

A major commemorative event which will take place in the Lahardane area in 2012 to commemorate the loss of 11 lives from the parish of Addergoole — all of whom perished on the Titanic — was given support by members of the cultural, education, heritage, and corporate affairs SPC.

Mayo County Walking Officer Anna Connor gave an in-depth presentation to the Planning and Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee of Mayo County Council. After outlining the steps being taken to turn Mayo into the walking capital of Ireland, Director of Services for the council Mr Joe Loftus told the members. “There is a difficult budget ahead which could have some implications for the walking strategy but I’m sure we can get through it.”

Director of services with Mayo County Council Joe Loftus said that a review of signage policy would be looked into following a notice of motion before the council’s monthly meeting by Councillor Damien Ryan as regards promotional signage.

A self service online system will be expanded on the Mayo County Council website, with one of the new enhancements being an online planning system. This new service will include a validation system, which will reduce the need for further information requests, and will therefore speed up in the time it takes to submit planning applications. The development of this novel system was welcomed by committee members of the Cultural, Education, Heritage and Corporate Affairs SPC meeting in the library last Wednesday.

At the adjourned meeting of Mayo County Council on Friday, Fine Gael Councillor Jarlath Munnelly queried the amount being allocated in the budget for postage in the planning office.

Members of the county council’s planning and economic development strategic policy committee have proposed that a submission be forwarded to the West Regional Authority in order to be included in the Regional Planning Guidelines 2004-2016.

For the second time in a week, the controversial new development levy scheme for all new developments in relation to water and sewerage contributions was passed by a local authority in the county, but only after a number of councillors expressed their opposition to the decision. Last week Ballina Town Council passed a reduced rate levey of €3,500 per housing unit while the council was looking for a €4,500 levey. The levey passed by the county county council according to the managers report on the scheme break down the costs so that for large schemes, the amount of the council’s contribution to the total cost of the scheme will be divided by the number of new houses to be served. While for small scheme’s it will be, the amount of the council’s contribution to the total cost divided by the number of new houses to be served, averaged over five recent small schemes developed by the council.

The elected members of Mayo County Council lent their vocal if not official support to the residents of Straide, who according to spokesperson Mary Roache “will see our community split in two” if Irish Rail get permission to close off three railway crossings XX31, XX32 and XX33.