Residents in Delgany oppose new housing application

RESIDENTS in Delgany, Co Wicklow, who this year had their appeal against a planning application for 300 houses upheld by An Bord…

RESIDENTS in Delgany, Co Wicklow, who this year had their appeal against a planning application for 300 houses upheld by An Bord Pleanala, are opposing a new housing plan for the area.

The latest application, for 256 houses at Charlesland, is not for the same site as in the earlier planning battle, but residents say the effect on traffic volumes through the village would be similar.

In a letter to Wicklow County Council, the Delgany Area Residents Association claims that traffic to and from the development would travel through the village to the N11.

The association points out that the inadequacy of this route, the R762, was cited by An Bord Pleanala as the reason for refusing the earlier application.

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The group argues that heavy traffic heading for the villages of Delgany, Greystones and Kilcoole already use the R762, which has become substandard. Any further increase in traffic volumes would be potentially "fatal", according to the group.

The Planning application for the Charlesland site, south of Greystones and Delgany, concerns land which is agriculturally zoned, and a material contravention of the development plan would be necessary to facilitate the plan.

The association has said it is opposed to any rezoning of agricultural land for development unless it is part of a complete review of the development plan. Such a review would allow the residents to challenge Wicklow County Council's view of Delgany as part of a conurbation of Greystones, Blacklion, Killincarrig and Delgany.

At the planning appeal hearing on the earlier proposal, residents indicated they would oppose all major housing schemes in the area until a plan for the Delgany by pass is instituted.