A new area development plan for Blessington has been rejected by Wicklow County Council, and with it a proposal to rezone just over 37 acres at Glen Ding Wood for sand and quarry extraction.
Following a heated meeting yesterday, councillors voted by 16 votes to seven to throw out the development plan. It will now have to be redrawn in a process that could take years.
The vote followed receipt by councillors of a letter from Dúchas, the Heritage Service, which indicated that representatives had met last month with Roadstone - the company which owns the land in question - to discuss the zoning of Glen Ding Wood. Following this meeting, Dúchas changed its recommendation from a 73.22-acre buffer zone, which excluded extraction work, to a 35.93-acre buffer zone.
This was backed by county manager Mr Eddie Sheehy, but met stiff opposition from some council members.
"I've extreme concerns about the U-turn that Dúchas appear to have done," said Cllr Deirdre de Burca of the Green Party. Deputy Liz McManus of the Labour Party said the county council was the planning authority, not Dúchas.
All councillors received two letters from Roadstone in recent weeks, while another came from the county manager last week to inform them of Dúchas's new position. Labour Party councillor Tommy Cullen proposed that all the land at Glen Ding and Deerpark be protected, with no sand or gravel extraction allowed.
He said the rest of the Blessington plan stated there was existing planning permission for extraction work which would last up to 15 years. His motion was voted down by 16 votes to six.
However, some of those who voted against it were also critical of Dúchas's apparent U-turn on the buffer zone issue. "I have grave concerns about the position of Dúchas being changed," said Deputy Billy Timmins, of Fine Gael.
Cllr Michael Lawlor, of Fianna Fáil, proposed that the entire plan be rejected, because of the amount of "innuendo" which was going around the chamber. This was backed by Deputy Timmins while other Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members supported the call.
The lone dissenting voice from the two largest parties was Cllr Eleanor Roche, who had supported Cllr Cullen's amendment. She spoke against Cllr Lawlor's motion.