Residents of Shankill in south Co Dublin have held a public meeting to rally opposition to a land-rezoning proposal which they fear will lead to a "complete erosion" of the green belt between Shankill and Bray.
Ten acres of land in the northern fringe of this green belt, occupied by Clontra House and its grounds, are proposed for rezoning to residential as part of a drive to provide more housing in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
Last week, county councillors voted to rezone at least an extra 71 hectares (170 acres) of land for residential use in the course of their review of the county development plan to make up a significant shortfall in housing provision.
The county manager, Mr Derek Brady, made it clear to members that if sufficient land was not rezoned for housing, the council would have to revisit each rezoning vote and free up further land until the 71-hectare target is reached.
Cllr Kealin Ireland (Green Party) said this would have serious implications for Clontra, Knockrabo and Dún Laoghaire golf club where initial decisions by councillors not to rezone might have to be overturned later in the review.
"For example, if a majority votes against the rezoning of Dún Laoghaire golf club, but at the end of the entire process a minimum of 71 hectares is not reached, then councillors may have no choice but to overturn their original decision."
In the case of Clontra, the mid-Victorian house and lands were bought recently by a Wicklow-based builder, Mr Pat O'Connor, for over €9 million with a view to developing an apartment complex on this coastal site at the end of Quinn's Road.
The house, which was designed by Deane and Woodward and contains frescos by John Hungerford, is a protected structure and would have to be retained in any development. However local residents want its wooded setting preserved intact. Without rezoning from green belt to residential, the site could not be developed.
Mr O'Connor has met Mr Brady, senior council planners and a number of councillors and has won their support for rezoning.
A spokesman for the council said Clontra was within walking distance of Shankill DART station and the construction of 400 new homes on the site would form a "natural extension" of the existing built-up area.
Cllr Denis O'Callaghan (Labour) has tabled a motion to prevent the rezoning. However Cllr Bernie Lowe (FF), who will be supporting it, said Clontra would not be threatened if other councillors did not oppose rezoning Dún Laoghaire golf club.
She said the pressure was on Shankill now because Labour, PD and Fine Gael councillors "pandered to the middle classes in Dún Laoghaire" by opposing the golf club rezoning, which would meet almost half of the housing shortfall. Ms Lowe said she supported this rezoning because the golf club was close to the centre of Dún Laoghaire where, unlike Shankill, the population was falling. There would also be a public park and the club was happy to move to Ballyman.
Ballyman is also located in the green belt between Shankill and Bray, which local residents fear could be eroded by housing schemes in the grounds of Shanganagh Castle, recently bought by the county council, and other sensitive locations.
Their specific objections to the Clontra rezoning include the loss of a country lane at the end of Quinn's Road, which provides pedestrian access to the beach, and the danger that it could lead to further coastal coastal erosion in the area.
