PDF-973 kb - Mayo County Council

AwardsFor the third consecutive year Mayo County Council has received the National Irish SafetyOrganisation (Highly Commended Award) for excellence in Health and Safety.Heritage PlanThe County Mayo Draft Heritage Plan has been prepared by the County MayoHeritage Forum. The draft Plan was approved by Mayo Co. Council in July 2005 andpublic consultation on the draft plan was undertaken from the 21 st September 2005 tothe 4 th November 2005. Observations and comments received on the draft plan will beconsidered by the Working Groups and Heritage Forum before the final plan ispresented to the Cultural, Heritage, Education and Corporate Affairs and Planning andEconomic Development SPC, and finally Mayo County Council for adoption.The County Mayo Draft Heritage Plan is a strategic document, dealing with issues ata countywide level. The broad aims of the plan are to identify, raise awareness of andpromote the conservation of the built, natural and cultural heritage of the county. Theplan contains a total of 87 actions. Each year an annual work programme will bedeveloped, setting out the projects to be undertaken in order to meet the objectives ofthe five-year strategic Heritage Plan.Based on the draft plan a submission was sent to The Heritage Council seekingfunding for actions to be undertaken in 2006. Initial indications are that €50,000 willbe allocated by The Heritage Council to fund six actions in the County Mayo DraftHeritage Plan in 2006. This funding is offered on a ’50:50 matching funding’ basis.The Heritage Council funds individual actions in the Heritage Plan at 75% of the finalcosts of the action, so only one third of Mayo County Councils contribution iscommitted to those projects which the Heritage Council has chosen to fund from thework programme. This provides discretionary funding for other projects that may becarried out by Mayo County Council.The projects for which the Heritage Council have indicated that they will providefunding include the following:‣ Establish and develop a ‘Golden Mile’ competition within the county (Action3.6)The ‘Golden Mile’ is an environmental initiative to encourage people living onrural roads to become more aware of the natural and built heritage along theirroadsides and where necessary, to take appropriate action to preserve and maintainthis resource. For instance this may involve clipping back a hedgerow on adangerous bend, repairing traditional gates and stone walls, or picking up litter.The project is organised as a competition and is the rural equivalent of the TidyTowns. The Golden Mile project is very supportive of the tourism industry as ithighlights the amenity value of our traditional rural roadscapes. Groups ofresidents are encouraged to enter a mile stretch of country or tertiary road into thecompetition.79