The High Court has reserved judgment on an application by Delgany Area Residents Association for leave to seek orders quashing the granting of planning permission for a development of 263 houses at Delgany, Co Wicklow.
Mr Justice Barr said he hoped to deliver judgment on the application shortly.
The residents association claims the development, by Avmark Ltd, with a registered office at Hill Grove, Killincarrig, Delgany, is essentially the same as a proposed development of 294 houses by Avmark for which planning permission was granted by Wicklow County Council in 1995 but overturned by An Bord Pleanala, following an oral hearing in 1996.
The association, with an address at Meath Cottage, Delgany, is seeking leave to seek orders, by way of judicial review, quashing the August 1997 granting of planning permission for the 263 houses and directing WCC to reconsider, in the light of Bord Pleanala's refusal of permission for the first proposed development, the application for the second development.
The residents claim the council is bound by the decision of An Bord Pleanala refusing the first development and cannot depart from it. The reasons cited by An Bord Pleanala for its refusal were that the development constituted a traffic hazard and was premature pending an adequate road network serving Delgany and the surrounding area.
The council is opposing the application for leave for judicial review. It claims it is not bound by An Bord Pleanala's decision because of the "material change in circumstances" since permission was refused for the first Avmark application.
The court was told the council had dealt with the second Avmark application in a materially different manner having regard to a number of issues, including its decision to bring forward the timescale for the construction of the Delgany east-west by-pass and the availability of land for road improvements.
At the close of the three-day hearing yesterday, Mr Michael O'Donnell, for the residents, said the net legal point in the matter was the extent to which the council was bound by the Bord's decision.ala., a superior body. It was for the court to determine whether the council acted within its powers in taking the decision to grant permission for the second development.