Meeting planned on holiday homes

An Irish consortium in London has invited members of Monaghan County Council to attend a private meeting in Castleblayney on …

An Irish consortium in London has invited members of Monaghan County Council to attend a private meeting in Castleblayney on Monday to discuss plans for a £21 million scheme to build holiday homes at the Lough Muckno Leisure Park, at Hope Castle, near Castleblayney.

An action group opposed to the development has already called for an independent public inquiry into the circumstances under which the property, owned by Monaghan County Council, was leased to the developers.

Last week a public meeting called by the county council to outline the project to townspeople ended with a walk-out by the Monaghan county manager, Mr Joe Gavin, and his officials when supporters of the action group attempted to video the proceedings.

Yesterday a Fianna Fail member of Monaghan County Council, Mr Brendan Hughes, who said he was instrumental in persuading the developers to come to Castleblayney, claimed there were "vested interests" trying to block the project.