A best-selling American writer has joined a campaign to persuade Waterford County Council not to allow development close to a national monument in Ardmore.
Nora Roberts, who set a trilogy of novels in the picturesque coastal village, has urged readers to e-mail the council to oppose a proposal for development near St Declan's Well and Hermitage, an ancient pilgrimage site.
Ms Roberts said she was "stunned and saddened" by the proposal. "There are rare and special places in the world, and Ardmore is one of them."
A large number of local residents have come out strongly against the proposal, claiming it is the latest in a series of bad planning decisions that have already damaged the character of the village.
Waterford County Council, however, says there is no question of permitting development that would interfere with the integrity of the monument. "We are not in the business of desecrating holy sites," said a senior executive planner with the council, Mr Jim O'Mahony.
The row arose following a proposal by the council to vary its county development plan of 1999 and allow development in an area near the well. The variation is necessary, it says, because of an error that occurred when the final plan was printed.
A planning application for 12 apartments in the area affected was approved by the council, but overturned by An Bord Pleanála on a number of grounds, including the incorrect zoning in the development plan.
Residents opposed to the development believe a renewed application will be made if the variation in the plan now sought by the council is approved by members.
Mr Dick Lincoln, who lives in the village, said the area concerned goes "right to the boundary of the well wall".
The well, he said, was the site of the oldest continuous Christian celebration in Ireland, going back to about AD 416.
A "pattern" was held there each July 24th in honour of St Declan. Tourists visited Ardmore for two main attractions, he said: the beach and the ecclesiastical sites associated with St Declan, a round tower, a cathedral and the well.
He accused the county council of having a "defective planning" strategy for the village, by allowing development in the wrong areas.
"Houses now dominate the skyline where once the round tower stood dramatically alone."
On her website, www.noraroberts.com, the author says she set three books in the village because it was "steeped in beauty, tradition, community and magic", and these should not be discounted in the name of progress.
"There is no progress, no meaning to it, without respect and appreciation for tradition. When we rip out our roots, they can never be replanted."
However, Mr O'Mahony, the county council planner, said there was no question of the council allowing development "right up to St Declan's Well".
Long before conservation "became popular", he said, the site had been protected in development plans going back three decades.
"The zoning that we are speaking about here is primarily residential, and there is specific mention in the relevant documentation of how it is designed 'to protect and enhance the social and physical character of town and village centres', in this case Ardmore," he said.
"If, as seems to be the case, local people have concerns about what is proposed, we will be happy to deal with their queries. There is a need, though, for clarity and all of us must steer clear of misinformation that can generate unjustified anxiety among local people and others concerned about preserving this beautiful area."
Submissions on the proposal can be made until this Friday, May 31st.
A report will then be prepared by the county manager, Mr Donal Connolly, within four weeks. Council members will have a further six weeks to decide whether to adopt the measure.