A meeting to be held in the village of Dowra on the Cavan/Leitrim border next week aims to establish a regional network of community groups to oppose organisations such as An Taisce in taking what are described as "unfair and abusive objections to planning applications".
As in other western counties, particularly Co Mayo, An Taisce is taking the brunt of local anger in an increasingly contentious debate on planning. Dowra, a few miles from the shores of Lough Allen, has seen practically no development over recent years - a fact acknowledged by An Taisce.
But it is within the Upper Shannon rural renewal tax zone, with tax reliefs similar to those offered in seaside towns such as Kilkee and Bundoran, and as such An Taisce is taking a particular interest in keeping the area "unspoiled".
Members of the Dowra Development Association believe young people in their area are being denied the chance to build houses and that tourism development is also being hampered.
"It would be very sad to think that young couples from the area will not be able to stay here but would be forced to move into towns like Sligo or Carrick-on-Shannon," said spokesman Gerry McMorrow. He said their primary concern was to ensure housing was provided in the area for local people, but they also want to see some tourism development to create employment.
A public meeting held in the village last week heard condemnations of members of An Taisce and "others from outside the area with vested interests in preventing development".
The group has made contact with people in Sligo and Mayo who hold a similar view of An Taisce and a meeting is to be held next Wednesday night to set up a regional network.
Mr McMorrow lists a number of cases which they see as particularly unfair. A local couple, Tanya McGourty (24) and Colm Maguire (26), who were granted planning permission for a house on the edge of the village, have had their application appealed to An Bord Pleanála by An Taisce. On an adjacent site a developer had plans to build 12 houses but this too is being appealed.
Mr McMorrow points out that in both cases the sites are within a serviced area and would have been connected to the village sewerage system. They are just outside the village boundary but are closer to the centre than the national school.
The couple have already paid for the site and say they would suffer a huge loss if they can't get planning permission. "It's sad to think that you can't live in an area that you were brought up in," Ms McGourty said.
An Taisce's heritage officer, Mr Ian Lumley, said the main reason for the objection in this case was traffic safety because the site is on a bend on steeply sloping ground. He pointed out that an initial appraisal by a senior planner in Leitrim County Council recommended refusal because it would cause a traffic hazard.
The couple say they bought an additional piece of land after being advised to do so by a council official to try to lessen the traffic safety problem.
An Taisce also backed an objection to the 12-house development, saying it would "introduce a housing estate-type scheme into a rural village of a scale in excess of identified need".
Mr Lumley said that in both cases there was no indication on planning applications that the houses were intended for local occupancy. He believes this should be a condition for planning.
He said that in other villages within the tax zone "speculative" schemes had been built, and houses were not being bought by locals.
"We find it distressing because local people continue to build in the countryside outside villages and these houses [in schemes\] are being bought by people seeking to avail of the tax scheme."
Dowra Development Association is sceptical of An Taisce's assertion that it supports proper development of villages and housing for local people. Mr McMorrow accused An Taisce of issuing "blanket objections".
Last week's public meeting heard claims that 73 objections have been lodged in recent months to planning applications along a 12-mile stretch of road between Dowra and Drumshanbo. Most of these relate to fewer than 10 commercial or housing developments close to Lough Allen, including a hotel in Drumshanbo and four housing or combined housing and marina developments.