Independent pledges to protect his town's heritage

mayo | environment | news report Sunday May 30, 2004 04:55 by Keith Martin - Non Party Candidate kmartin at dna dot ie

Independent pledges to protect his town's heritage

Independent pledges to protect his town's heritage

Keith Martin says that if elected he will act to ensure the heritage of the town is not further eroded by “improvements” to the towns paths, roads and walls or built over by new developments.

Independent Candidate Keith Martin says that if elected he will act to ensure the heritage of the town is not further eroded by “improvements” to the towns paths, roads and walls or built over by new developments.

Keith Martin says “Mayo now has an official heritage officer and that is to be welcomed and applauded but in recent years Westport has seen its railway bridges altered beyond recognition, its limestone cobble stones disappear and its treelands depleted. We should ensure this does not happen again.

Once elected I promise to keep a close eye on all proposed works and assess their affects on the Town’s heritage and anyone damaging or removing heritage objects or our natural resources will be held accountable.

The work of the Civic Trust is this area is to be commended. It is excellent to see so many citizens come together and care for our town. Westport is fortunate to have such an active organisation and my door will always to open to it. As a councillor I will always welcome the input of the organisation and its members.

To ensure our heritage Westport Town Council should move to secure the Bank of Ireland garden as a heritage feature and amenity for the people of Westport.

I look forward to the replanting of the Northwoods and to hearing the suggestions of the Civic Trust and the residents of the neighbouring estates as part of the replanting scheme. We should protect our wooded areas as carefully as we would our ancient buildings.

Keith Martin concluded “Westport is a beautiful town with a strong sense of history and heritage. Let’s keep it that way.”