As restrictions ease and businesses reopen their doors, Mayo County Council want to work with local business to assist them in getting their business back on track. Dedicated teams have been established within the Municipal Districts to work with business owners in towns and villages to aid them to reopen to a new way of doing business.

Simple design guidance and advice on matters such as managing customer queues, etc is available from our offices or website or by contacting the staff in the Municipal District offices for advice.

If you own a café, restaurant, hotel or bar, where you serve food to the public that can be eaten onsite, you can apply to Mayo County Council for a licence to put tables and chairs on the footpath/public realm space outside your premises. As part of this initiative, Mayo County Council will consider refunding of the licence fees paid for outdoor tables and chairs for the year.

Download Chair Application for Licence to place tables and chairs on public pavement .

In some cases, Mayo County Council can consider the temporary assignment of suitable, adjacent parking spaces or other outdoor spaces for use by a trading business for the location of tables and chairs (and suitable weather protection, if required).   

If you are a business owner interested in this initiative, you can contact your Municipal District Office, full details of all offices below.  Details relating to the ‘Supporting Business through the Public Realm” scheme, you can download the document at this link; Supporting Business through the Public Realm Document.

Where a parking space or spaces are to be temporarily reassigned to provide additional seating for the premises, the fee as specified previously will be used to offset the cost of the provision of planters and attractive planting to enclose the space.

Peter Duggan, Interim CE of Mayo County Council outlined “As a Local Authority we want to work with local businesses to support them as they prepare to reopen their doors in these times.  The opportunity to provide seating outside premises will be of interest to many business owners and we are pleased to provide the expertise of our Architects, Planners and other Officials through our Municipal District structures to discuss possible options.

We recognise that these are difficult times for the hospitality sector and for that reason, the cost of licences will be refunded or where a parking space is being repurposed as a seating area, it will used to offset the cost of enclosing the space from traffic in a safe and attractive manner”.

Gerry Luskin, President of Ballina Chamber added

“From day one Mayo County Council, Ballina Municipal District Council and Ballina Chamber has colloborated on a strategic plan to ensure the gradual and safe re-opening of our town and businesses in accordance with Government guidelines. We welcome the businesse supports both from Mayo County Coucnil and the Local Enterprise Office and the variety of additional initiatives such as the forum working on a 12 month Mayo economic recovery plan, which was established as part of the county’s response to the economic fallout of Covid-19.

Some great ideas have developed as a result, such as Mayo tourism recovery taskforce, ‘Small Business Summer’ promotional campaign and a reoriented Mayo 2040 economic development strategy. Colloboration is the key to ensuring the future of our local businesses and town centres and Ballina Chamber will continue to support its members and the local authority, in getting through this crisis.”

APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED

TO YOUR LOCAL MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OFFICE

BALLINA MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Civic Offices, Arran Place, Ballina, Co Mayo, F26 E5D7

Telephone 094 9064400

CASTLEBAR MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Áras An Chontae, The Mall, Castlebar, Co Mayo, F23 WF90

Telephone 094 9064000

CLAREMORRIS – SWINFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Kilcolman Road, Claremorris, Co Mayo, F12 P383

Telephone 094 9064800

WESTPORT – BELMULLET MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Civic Offices, Altamont Street, Westport, Co Mayo, F28 W248 Telephone 094 9064600