New Chair sets out his plan for the year ahead
Speaking at the AGM of Ballyshannon Town Council on Tuesday evening last, newly elected Chairman, Cllr. Brendan Travers stated that it has been his pleasure to serve the people of Ballyshannon for the past 6 years, and today it is the icing on the cake, it is an absolute honour and privilege to be elected chairperson. He stated that he was proud to be the second member of his family to hold the chain of office and 25 years yesterday his father Phonsie was first elected to BTC.
Cllr. Travers publicly thanked and congratulated Cllr. Eugene Dolan for his great service to the people of Ballyshannon. He stated that Cllr. Dolan had done himself and his family very proud over the past year, as the third member of the Dolan family to be elected to this council.
Cllr. Travers continued by outlining a number of priorities, which he would like to address whilst in the chair.
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Firstly he would like to revisit The East West waterway project which aims to establish a single inland waterway from Belfast to Ballyshannon. This issue has been on the agenda in the past. He noted that in the current climate it is very ambitious, but some initial proceedings have started which included the input of our Tánaiste. Whilst re-establishing communications with other councils across the border, Cllr. Travers believes that we as a Council should do our utmost to ensure that this issue is seriously addressed. This would be massive for tourism and for the local economy. He hopes that we would meet with counterparts from Lisburn Council in the near future.
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Cllr. Travers stated that he would like to lead and develop an anti-litter campaign for the town. This is our town, and we all have a role to play in this.
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Cllr. Travers called for investment in 2 things. The first one is the Paupers grave at St.Annes. This site was used as the burial ground for the poor of the area. Countless poor souls were laid to rest here during the Great Famine of 1845-1850. The site was marked in 1995 by a plaque erected by the Donegal Association in New York. He acknowledged the historical society has done some work on this, but this needs further investment and could enhance the tourism potential of the town. There is a lot of history to the grave and he believes it is something we can develop into much more.
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Secondly Cllr. Travers believes this council needs a serious debate on the future of the handball alley adjacent to the Mall Park. Another site of historical significance. This is a facility that is in a very poor state, however it is used quite often and it needs investment and some innovation as to how the future of the site can be utilised.
Cllr. Travers stated that previous chairmen before have spoken about upgrading this council, he stated that his wish is in protecting this council from abolition, which can be debated on another day but it’s important that we stand alongside other councils on this issue, and through our reps on the AMAI we need to fight the case. It is important to note that there are other countries in the EU with a smaller population and more local authorities.
Cllr. Travers concluded by stating that he looked forward to dealing with these and many other issues over the next year. He intends to be a fair but firm chairman, and he stated that he looked forward to support and co-operation in bringing our town forward in a positive manner.
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