A two-acre garden adjoining the Bank of Ireland in Westport, Co Mayo, which had been targeted for retention as a public amenity by both Westport Civic Trust and Westport District Council, has been sold to a private buyer despite continuing opposition to any development on the site.
Trust members are to stage a silent protest against the sale outside the Bank of Ireland headquarters in Westport on Wednesday to coincide with the bank's annual meeting.
Shareholders from the Westport area are to raise the issue at the a.g.m., and the trust is to meet Westport District Council to request that the garden be designated a "special amenity" on which no development can take place.
The trust, formed last March, has a membership of about 100 people who will use it to express concern about the development of sites considered to have a heritage value. A Westport auctioneer, Mr Peter Tuohy, confirmed that the sale of the garden to a developer had been completed. It is believed the sale was made to a local businessman subject to planning permission. Bids tendered by both the trust and the district council were turned down without negotiation last month by the Bank of Ireland, which handled the sale from Dublin.
The bank is declining to release any details of the deal. The council chairman, Mr Patrick Durcan, has condemned the bank for its handling of the sale. He vowed that as a member of the council he would be calling for the use of every statutory mechanism available to prevent development of the garden.
"The approach of the Bank of Ireland has been nothing short of disgraceful. They have refused to respond in any meaningful way to the views of the people of Westport," he said.
Mr Liam McNally of the civic trust confirmed that questions surrounding the sale would be raised by local shareholders at the a.g.m. in Dublin. "Basically, we want to see the garden retained as a special amenity area in Westport and we are urging the UDC to designate the garden as such a special amenity in the town development plan. This would make it impossible for any development to occur on the site," he said.
He said people were still "cheesed off" with the bank's behaviour, and revealed that the trust had simply been told that the bank was closing the sale and was dealing with one person only in this regard.
"We are checking all our options, including the idea of spotlisting a site for protection under the Government Heritage Act. When we first approached Bank of Ireland, we were informed that money was not an issue but obviously all of that changed," he said.
