Call for village status for Lavey

Local elected members are set to debate whether Lavey should be upgraded to the status of ‘village’ at a future meeting of Cavan County Council.

“It is on the N3, it has a pub, restaurants, a B&B, a hardware store. It has everything a village needs,” argued Fine Gael’s Val Smith when he raised the matter for discussion at a meeting of the Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District.

But the local representative lamented that efforts to date to have the area recognised or even considered for village status had, so far, come to nought.

He said more than €1 million had been spent upgrading various facilities at Lavey, from footpaths to lighting. However, Cllr Smith contended that, if redesignated, the area could access a range of further funding supports available specifically for towns and villages in the region.

“There are villages in the county where all the businesses are nearly all gone out of them,” said Cllr Smith, who also serves as chair of the MD. “Here we have an area that has all going for it and is trying to become one.”

He remarked the same could be said of Maghera.

Responding, Director of Services for the area, Paddy Connaughton explained that the council is examining settlement needs as part of the County Development Plan review.

But he stated by CSO standards, Lavey falls one rung below what is termed a Category 2 village, one which is unserviced.

Other villages in the county listed under Category 2 are attached to wastewater treatment facilities.

Mr Connaughton also commented that he would “not like to say there was nothing going on in these villages” before recommending that Cllr Smith raise the matter at a plenary meeting of the council.