Sir, - Frank McDonald's recent report on how Courtown is being transformed into a "visual and environmental slum" (The Irish Times, June 19th) is of relevance to all concerned with the preservation of traditional villages. K. P. O'Neill points out (June 24th) that the local authority, Wexford County Council, facilitated that transformation. This same local authority was prevented from facilitating the destruction of the village of Kilmore Quay when recent appeals to An Bord Pleanala succeeded in overturning planning decisions in favour of holiday home development. The village is renowned for the concentration of whitewashed thatched houses, and merits very sensitive treatment.
In his article, Mr McDonald refers to the proposed Courtown Action Plan which will form part of a draft County Development Plan to be adopted in the autumn. An action plan is also in preparation for Kilmore Quay. However, the lack of any serious consultation with the community about the proper and appropriate future development of that village has to date resulted in a draft action plan, presented in October 1998, which showed scant regard for the unique character of the village. This plan would accommodate the same kind of unbalanced development which has destroyed Courtown. While the draft plan is being revised, the absence of any consultation since the original plan was presented does not inspire confidence that the unique character of the village of Kilmore Quay will be preserved.
In formulating the action plan for Kilmore Quay the council engaged professional planners. However, at the presentation referred to, there was no evidence of any research having been carried out on the area. This village is of national importance being a lived-in, working, thatched village. The least one could have expected from professional planners was that a design guide, reflecting the special character of the local architecture, would have been devised. What was produced in this regard was merely a collection of extracts from a council guide published in the 1980s for Co Wexford. Another omission was the lack of any attempt to assure local people of home ownership in the village.
In relation to Courtown, the county manager is quoted as saying that "no one anticipated the level of development." This suggests that developments are somewhat akin to forces of nature over which there is no control. Some of us were under the impression that county councils, as planning authorities, were there precisely to control developments in the public interest, through the powers given to them under the various planning Acts. - Yours, etc., C. Kehoe,
Castletown Drive, Celbridge, Co Kildare.