Possibilities for Mayo campervan aires facilities explored

THE provision of year-round aires facilities for campervans is on the agenda of Mayo County Council's tourism committee.

There are 32 such facilities in Ireland, which provide for stays of up to 48 hours, with toilet, water and other services for motorhome owners, but there are none in Mayo.

With one million motorhomes between the UK, France and Ireland, this is a tourism sector that has huge potential for the county, said Councillor Peter Flynn.

In a detailed presentation, tourism officer Anna Connor said there are 11 official caravan and camping sites in Mayo. Other locations used for overnight stays include piers and harbours, public and private car parks, beaches and roadside lay-bys.

In France, where there are 4,000 such sites, aires are located on the edges of towns and villages, with access to amenities such as playgrounds, cycle and walking trails. In looking at developing aires in Mayo, they had to look at safe locations and maybe small remote villages, which would see an economic return.

Councillor Flynn said this provides opportunities for the whole county, not just the traditional locations we associate with tourism. He would be thinking of places like Killeen, Lecanvey, Louisburgh, Aughagower and Tourmakeady.

Councillor Michael Kilcoyne agreed this could be excellent but it needs to be done right.

The point was made that aires would operate on a commercial basis and they were not talking about displacing existing operators.

Many facilities, said Councillor Flynn, close between September and June. There was still a huge number of the campervan community looking for locations to go to during these times and what they needed to provide was year-round facilities.

It was suggested that members would visit some of the facilities in Ireland, such as Portumna in Galway and Cobh in Co. Cork.