Parting shot at Minister as Chambers warns of implications for Newport

TUESDAY, 10 MARCH 2009
Parting shot at Minister as Chambers warns of implications for Newport


Neill O’Neill

COUNCILLOR Frank Chambers attended his last hometown meeting as an elected representative yesterday (Monday), and used the opportunity to call on the County Council not to allow the electoral area division in Newport divide the people of the town.
Cllr Chambers called the re-drawing of the electoral area boundary through the heart of Newport a ‘disgraceful decision by any minister’ and expressed his concern that it could divide the town in that people on either side of the river would now be subject to the workings of different council offices and personnel. Cllr Chambers said the unity that exists among the people of Newport is integral to the local community, and sounded warnings that unless a concerted effort is made to protect this, Newport could end up in a situation like Charlestown and Bellaghy.
“One thing I don’t want to see happening is Newport town itself being divided by these new boundaries,” Cllr Chambers said. “There needs to be a unity among the groups in Newport such as the Tidy Towns and the Newport Development Company. We now have a situation where people will have to meet two separate engineers in order to get anything done on either side of the river, and separate offices will be deciding on funding and what can be done in different parts of Newport, even though it is the same town. The integrity of the town is fundamental and going forward things like planning need to be done for the whole town, and not just for some areas.”
Cllr Chambers used the example of how the river meanders in and out of different council areas as it enters Newport. He said this would lead to a lot of duplication and confusion over, for example, which engineer was in charge of the area and where applications or submissions should be made.
“We do not want to be divided,” he said. “In electoral terms we already are, but the community does not want to be.”
Cllr Margaret Adams agreed with her party colleague and called the redrawing of the boundary through Newport ‘unreasonable’. Cllr John O’Malley went one further and said it was ‘pure mad’ and among the ‘daftest’ things he had ever heard.
“The only thing we can do now is work to keep the town cohesive,” he said, as Cllr Adams called for a liaison officer to be appointed to deal with the issues Cllr Chambers had raised.
The decision to redraw the electoral area boundary through Newport forced Cllr Chambers to opt out of politics, according to Cllr O’Malley, with Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, Cllr Martin Keane, describing the decision as an ‘absolute disgrace’. Cllr Keane wished Cllr Chambers and his wife and family all the best for the future, and thanked him for his service to the Westport area over the past 30 years. These sentiments were echoed around the table, with Cllr Austin Francis O’Malley saying that he found it difficult to believe that Mayo had seen the end of Frank Chambers’ political career.
Director of Services in the Westport Electoral Area, Mr Peter Hynes, said that there were some advantages to the boundary change, adding that Newport would now have eight councillors with money to spend rather than four. He said that Mayo County Council is very aware of the need for integration in Newport and is keen to preserve it