TD seeks inquiry into overruling of planning inspector

A call for an inquiry into why An Bord Pleanala rejected the advice of its own inspector in relation to a housing development on Bray Head has been made by the Labour TD for Wicklow, Ms Liz McManus.

Planning permission was granted by Bray Urban District Council to McInerney Homes for 55 houses on Bray Head last year, against the advice of Wicklow County Council's acting senior executive planner.

The planning permission was also opposed by the 12 elected members of the urban council who then took the unusual step of appealing their own authority's permission to An Bord Pleanala.

Following appeals from the elected council, Bray residents and the local Save Our Head Organisation, an appeal was heard by a Bord Pleanala inspector, Mr James Carroll. He delivered his report on March 3rd, and the planning appeals board granted permission for a reduced development of 38 houses earlier this month.

However, Ms McManus told The Irish Times yesterday that she was outraged to learn that Mr Carroll had found against the housing development going ahead at all.

She plans to raise the matter with the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey. "I was absolutely outraged to discover that the inspector agreed with all the major reasons that we said the development should not go ahead." The site is zoned for educational and amenity use.

Mr Carroll found that, while some housing was allowable under the designated zoning, "educational needs occupy a position of primacy relative to other land uses. It is considered therefore that the proposed development would materially contravene the development plan in a manner contrary to the proper planning and development of educational requirements of the Bray Urban District area."

Having considered an environmental impact statement, Mr Carroll felt a development would have a serious visual impact on the area. It adjoined an area of outstanding natural beauty and ran "directly counter to the reasonable development plan objective to preserve the views and prospects across the site from the Vevay Road".

In its 1997 report, An Bord Pleanala accepted the recommendations of its inspectors 91 per cent of the time. A spokesman said yesterday the board decided not to accept the inspector's recommendation because the development was within the zoning of the site, would not cause a traffic hazard and would be acceptable in terms of the development plan.