Sir, - Fiona Orme (October 17th) described the huge development pressures being experienced in Donegal. In Co Kerry, the situation is similar. Like Donegal, we have many highly scenic rural areas and there is increased pressure for development there. The houses are mainly holiday homes, built by city-dwellers who appear to be unaware of what they are destroying.
Our councillors also seem unaware of the long-term consequences of present planning policies. They seem to be influenced more by the demands of landowners who want to sell sites at great profit, rather than the needs of the community as a whole. Section 4 motions are being used to push through planning permissions against the advice of the planners.
It is Government policy to encourage sustainable development, but recent changes to our county development plan go against this principle. Landowners in rural areas are being encouraged to build clusters of up to five houses on their land. These are costly to service and, in the long term, the burden is met by the taxpayer.
The councillors are now proposing that the Development plan should be altered to allow ribbon development of up to seven houses along our roads. This is a retrograde step. The buildings will cut off views and increase the risk of traffic accidents. Kerry is the top tourist destination in Ireland, but if these unsustainable policies are carried through, the county will soon lose the assets which make it so attractive to visitors. - Yours, etc.,
Catherine McMullin, An Taisce, Kerry Association, Killorglin, Co Kerry.