Dumping clean up welcomed

mayo | environment | press release Tuesday May 09, 2006 00:52 by Cllr Keith Martin

Dumping clean up welcomed

Cllr Keith Martin says he is pleased to see that illegal dumping on council land of construction material in Cloonmonad has been cleared up by the council following complaints by Cllr Martin to the Town Council and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In March Cllr Martin raised the issue with the council and stated publicly his “disgust at the fact soil, pipes, wood planks, pallets and other building rubbish” was being dumped illegally in Cloonmonad. Compounding the problem was the fact that the waste was being dumped in the vicinity of the wetlands and the Railway line walk which is one of the town’s recreational assets.

The six acre site is owned by the council and was a problem area several years ago when it was plagued by illegal dumping, this appeared to have ceased, until recently, when it was clear to see that dumping was once again taking place.

Cllr Martin also stated that the council had also concluded its investigation into the dumping of the construction waste and that he was disappointed that the culprit could not be conclusively identified but he welcomed the commitment from the Town Council that it would closely monitor the Cloomonad area in the future. Cllr Martin pointed out that “this means that the people of Westport had to pay to have someone else’s mess cleaned up and disposed of properly.”

Cllr Martin concluded “Westport is a beautiful town and we must work hard to keep it that way, whether this means clearing up litter or monitoring those areas where illegal dumping takes place. The Railway Line walk and wetland area is a place of great beauty and we must be vigilante in our efforts to keep it beautiful