MAYOR John Moran has published a last-minute statement regarding a meeting that had been scheduled to take place with residents of Janesboro this Wednesday evening over his hotly debated plans for modular housing in Boro Park.
A public meeting was arranged after the Mayor agreed to meet with local residents to hear their concerns over his plans.
The meeting is still slated to go ahead, the statement confirmed, with a further meeting to go ahead at a later date due to “ongoing regulatory issues”.
The Mayor, in his statement, said that “two issues have arisen” in connection with original plans for the meeting, which was to be recorded due to space restrictions not allowing for all those willing to attend to fit in the venue.
The Mayor said that “the capacity of the venue is limited and will not allow all stakeholders who have expressed an interest to attend. For a project of this scale and importance, it is essential that engagement is accessible and inclusive, and not restricted by space. As a compromise I had therefore agreed that the meeting would only take place with a recording to be provided to those not able to attend.”
“Notwithstanding this, it was made clear to me this afternoon that there may be ongoing regulatory issues which mean this cannot be facilitated to the required standard. Given the late stage at which this has arisen, it is not possible to resolve these issues in time for this evening.”
Mayor Moran said he remains “fully committed to meeting with the residents of Janesboro and to ensuring their views are heard as part of this process”.
“As a result, and to not unduly inconvenience those already planning to attend, I am proposing to continue with tonight’s event to hear the voices of those attending and then to plan a second such exercise in the very near future to continue the discussion on SMART homes.
“To facilitate that plan, a recording will be taken of the meeting tonight to enable a full transcript of the discussion to be circulated at a later date so that all voices can be fairly represented.”
The meeting this evening will take place at 7pm in the Queen of Peace school in Janesboro.