A decision to rezone two large tracts of land outside Gorey, Co Wexford, without public discussion has caused anger in the town.
One of the tracts is largely owned by the mother of a Fianna Fáil councillor and former minister of state, Mr Lorcan Allen, who is chairman of the four-member Gorey district committee which decided to rezone the land.
Mr Allen said yesterday he had absented himself from the room while the other three councillors on the committee made the decision. There was "no stroke-pulling" involved, he said.
Gorey Chamber of Industry and Commerce has expressed concern about the rezonings and has called on the four councillors concerned to attend a public meeting about the issue.
Mr Michael D'Arcy TD and Ms Deirdre Bolger of Fine Gael, and Mr Joe Murphy of Fianna Fáil are the other members of the committee.
One of the parcels of land is at Ballytegan, near the N11 to the north of Gorey, and the other is at Raheenagurren East, on the Courtown Harbour side of the town.
Both have been rezoned from agricultural to "commercial and mixed land use", which provides for a range of commercial developments.
Neither was listed for rezoning on a draft area plan for Gorey which went on public display late last year.
They were added to the plan by the district committee following submissions from members of the public.
The plan was then ratified by Wexford County Council without going back on public display.
Mr Kevin Redmond, the council's senior planner, said the correct procedures had been followed and there was no requirement to put the plan on public display a second time.
The district committee, he said, made its decisions based on a report from the county manager after all submissions had been received.
The report had said the two parcels of land in question should be considered for rezoning, but had not recommended in favour or against, he said.
Mr Allen said his mother owned about 35 of the 47 acres that had been rezoned at Raheenagurren East.
The land was close to an interchange on the proposed Gorey bypass, and it was a specific objective of the area plan that sites along the bypass be reserved for strategic development.
A planning consultant had made a submission on his mother's behalf to have the land rezoned and this had been approved.
The chamber of industry and commerce, he said, was newly established and, in criticising the rezoning, was "trying to make a name for itself".
The chamber president, Mr Colman Doyle, said there was no suggestion of "anything untoward" in the way the decisions were made, but the legal procedures appeared to be less than transparent.
"What we're most annoyed about is that the process doesn't require them to go back on public display with the plan."
Members were concerned that the rezonings would take retail business away from the town centre, in contravention of the council's own objectives. Mr Redmond, the council planner, rejected this.
The Government's retail planning guidelines, which restrict out-of-town developments, would supersede the area plan, he said.
Mr Malcolm Byrne, a Fianna Fáil member of Gorey Town Council, also criticised the rezonings.
"It's crazy that something like this, which has such a long-term impact for the town, can take place without people knowing."
The tract of land at Ballytegan is understood to comprise about 50 acres.
Agricultural land in the Gorey area is currently selling for about €10,000 an acre. An auctioneering source said rezoning could increase its value to up to €125,000 an acre.
