Large-scale land rezoning in south and east Meath may be rejected by the Minister for the Environment because of conflict with the Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPGs) - but there will not be a permanent ban on development, the Minister told The Irish Times.
In addition to the proposed rezoning of 250 acres outside Clonee, the draft Meath County Development plan also proposes the rezoning of 120 acres of greenbelt east of the old railway line in Dunboyne and large-scale population increases in east Meath in the Bettystown and Laytown areas.
However, all of this development appears to be in contravention to the SPGs which were agreed between the county councils of Meath, Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, the Department of the Environment and the major service providers.
Locals are concerned that in the absence of agreements from service providers such as Dublin Bus, Bord Gais and the departments of Environment, Health and Justice in relation to roads, health centres and garda stations, the result will be prairie-style housing typified by the worst excesses seen in west Dublin in the 1970s and 1980s.
Because of the apparent conflict with the SPGs, the Minister Mr Dempsey has requested that the county council explain how its latest plans for south Meath are in line with public policy, particularly the SPGs.
A letter from the Department to Meath County Council specifically expresses concern about the large business park on the Meath/Fingal border. At 250 acres the park represents a scale that far surpasses the area of land zoned for industry in any of the targeted towns in the county.
The Department also complained that issues raised earlier about proposals for a "new town" at Kilbride, just across the county boundary with Fingal, had not been addressed by the council. The Kilbride land, owned by Bovale Developments Ltd, will accommodate about 2,000 new homes if its draft rezoning is confirmed by Meath County Council.
In relation to housing to the east of the railway line at Dunboyne, the Minister is particularly concerned that the development runs contrary to the SPGs and could compromise the reopening of the rail link between Navan and Dublin.