Sir, - In what I trust will be my final communication on the subject of the beach at Strand Road, Sutton, I am delighted to report that wiser counsel has prevailed and, following a three year campaign waged by environmentally aware local residents, An Bord Pleanala has upheld the appeals and overturned the planning permission granted by Fingal County Council to the sailing club. The beach is now fully protected from development and the wider community can continue to enjoy it, as they have done for generations.
If anything is to be learned from this experience, it is that when private interests seek to develop public property, especially in high amenity areas such as this beach, the issues are much too important to be left in the hands of local authority planners whose focus is far too narrow for matters of national environmental policy.
With the country now awash with money, the temptation to channel funds into socially beneficial projects, as suggested in this case, may cause local authorities to lose sight of the bigger picture. An independent body with similar status and expertise to that of An Bord Pleanala should be formed to deal with these cases. - Yours, etc.,
Pat Cody, Strand Road, Sutton, Dublin 13.