Developers may face an unprecedented €100,000 per acre levy on new building in south Galway's seaside community of Oranmore, if a new plan is adopted for the area.
The draft area plan, which is due to be voted on by Galway county councillors tonight, provides for a cap on housing units in the rapidly growing coastal city.
Labour Party president and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins has appealed to councillors to "de-zone" fenland bordering on Galway Bay which has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation.
The original decision to zone the fenland for housing could prove disastrous in an area prone to flooding, he has warned.
The Oranmore blueprint is one of 12 local area plans currently at various stages before Galway County Council, at a time of increasing concern over the future shape of Galway, one of Europe's fastest growing cities, and its extensive hinterland. A 15-hour meeting involving four councillors for the area last week - Cllr Jim Cuddy (PD), Cllr Mary Hoade (FF), Cllr Fidelma Healy-Eames (FG) and Cllr Jarlath McDonagh (FG) - agreed proposals which would include a €100,000 per acre charge on developers as a contribution towards the provision of amenities.
Currently, development contributions levied as a condition of planning permission vary from county to county, and are usually drawn down to pay for water, sewerage and roads.
The average for Galway county is around €30,000 to €50,000 an acre, according to the local authority.
Minister for Environment Dick Roche has established an inter-departmental committee to look at issues raised by different interests in relation to building levies nationally, currently amounting to €500 million, amid claims that developers are passing the charges on to first-time buyers.
"The charges are clearly not enough, and local authorities can find themselves in the ridiculous situation of having to pay market prices to buy land for schools and pitches," Ray Lavery, of the Oranmore Community Development Association, told The Irish Times.
Very little amenity land was purchased by the local authority at a time when prices in the Oranmore area were affordable.
The recent construction of a secondary school close to its 16th century castle is regarded as a symbol of Oranmore's apparently unrestrained development over the past five years.
Fine Gael, Labour and Green Party public representatives are concerned about plans for housing on flood plains near the town.
Applications for extensive housing on two of the flood plains - which Mr Higgins wants de-zoned - is currently before An Bord Pleanála.
The plans involve infilling part of the lands adjoining the shoreline with builders rubble before constructing houses and apartments.
Green Party spokesman for Galway, Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin, concurs with Labour that the flood plains should never have been zoned for housing in the first place.
