Meath County Council told to De-Zone Land

[alonso]

"The Department of the Environment has called on Meath County Council to "de-zone" land already designated for development in areas that were never intended to cater for growth in the county's population....

The department says it is "particularly concerned that the development plan for Meath should more explicitly prioritise and channel future development activity and growth potential within the county to a smaller number of strategic locations"....

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/irelan ... 06080.html

Yes the gombeenmen have tried to strike again. now we'll see developers making thousands in compensation payments as their once valuable development land is rendered worthless. Thanks Meath Councillors, and thanks too to Noel Dempsey who, as Minister for the Environment, stood idly by in 2001 while his fellow Meathmen attempted, and almost succeeded, in destroying the entire county. Mornington, Donacarney!!!! Who's ever heard of these places? Commuter sprawl and Chaos at the Crossroads. Another glaring example of why Councillors need to be marginalised in the Development Plan process

[Coles]

So the Department for the Environment is restricting the supply/building of houses while also buying them on the open market (at full price as the market falters)? That is totally insane!

Is it happening elsewhere in the country?

[alonso]

so you would build houses ad hoc wherever deveopers want them? Some believe in actually planning where and how communities live in the long term. Mistakes have been made, serious errors that are having drastic consequences for traffic, social contact and the rearing of the next irish generation

This is happening in Laois and Monaghan where nudge nudge wink wink local democracy has also vomited sh1t housing all over the county. We have to get away from the damaging supply approach and zone land where it makes sense...

[The Analyser]

so you would build houses ad hoc wherever deveopers want them? Some believe in actually planning where and how communities live in the long term. Mistakes have been made, serious errors that are having drastic consequences for traffic, social contact and the rearing of the next irish generation

This is happening in Laois and Monaghan where nudge nudge wink wink local democracy has also vomited sh1t housing all over the county. We have to get away from the damaging supply approach and zone land where it makes sense...

I agree 100%. What is happening in Meath is an utter disgrace. I never thought I'd say it but that Christ we've got someone with some intelligence and some cop on in the Dept of the Environment after that idiot Cullen. What is happening in Meath is a scandal. We'll need another tribunal to get to the bottom of just who is paying whom to get through these crazy rezonings. It is way past the time that we get ignorant councillors out of planning while there is still some parts of the country they haven't raped with stupid planning decisions.

[HanleyS]

I was delighted to see this in the paper today. My initial thoughts were that the developers would never let it happen and that they were too powerful. Obviously someone forgot to visit the FF tent at the Galway Races this year!

[qtman]

I can't understand why the GP and Labour want to give Local Authorities more power. This is all very well in places like South County Dublin but most Local Authorities west of the M50 are run by half-wits.

Their powers need to be curtailed rather than extended.

[michael1965]

Yes the gombeenmen have tried to strike again. now we'll see developers making thousands in compensation payments as their once valuable development land is rendered worthless.

I don't see why there would be compensation, which is just as well, since it would be millions rather than thousands if they were entitled to it.

[michael1965]

so you would build houses ad hoc wherever deveopers want them? Some believe in actually planning where and how communities live in the long term. Mistakes have been made, serious errors that are having drastic consequences for traffic, social contact and the rearing of the next irish generation

This is happening in Laois and Monaghan where nudge nudge wink wink local democracy has also vomited sh1t housing all over the county. We have to get away from the damaging supply approach and zone land where it makes sense...

I agree 100%. What is happening in Meath is an utter disgrace. I never thought I'd say it but that Christ we've got someone with some intelligence and some cop on in the Dept of the Environment after that idiot Cullen. What is happening in Meath is a scandal. We'll need another tribunal to get to the bottom of just who is paying whom to get through these crazy rezonings. It is way past the time that we get ignorant councillors out of planning while there is still some parts of the country they haven't raped with stupid planning decisions.

I think the solution is quite simple. County development plans must be legally required to be consistent with national policy, rather than "having regard to" it, if that's the form of words that currently applies?

Also, I don't think it's corruption that is driving this. It's just a competitive situation between the counties surrounding Dublin to attract population, and presumably the funding that goes with it (not that I agree with that)

I'm also a bit perplexed that people (like the Greens) are calling for more centralization of government (eg the four Dublin LAs to be merged). I thought they believed in devolving democracy to the lowest levels.

There is often a conflict between local and national politics (eg. landfills and incinerators) but it should be possible to resolve these conflicts without diminishing local democracy, or handing over a function as important as zoning to unelected and unaccountable officials.

[alonso]

Yes the gombeenmen have tried to strike again. now we'll see developers making thousands in compensation payments as their once valuable development land is rendered worthless.

I don't see why there would be compensation, which is just as well, since it would be millions rather than thousands if they were entitled to it.

Developers who buy zoned residential land expecting, rightly, to get planning permission, can sue the Council if their land is rendered worthless by a de-zoning. They can also sue if the Council fails to service the land, also rendering it undevelopable. This is happening in a tiny village somewhere in the GDA, I believe, where a development of over 500 houses on zoned land, has been consistently refused permission for reasons beyond the developers control. It's total and utter mis-governance by incompetent councillors

[alonso]

so you would build houses ad hoc wherever deveopers want them? Some believe in actually planning where and how communities live in the long term. Mistakes have been made, serious errors that are having drastic consequences for traffic, social contact and the rearing of the next irish generation

This is happening in Laois and Monaghan where nudge nudge wink wink local democracy has also vomited sh1t housing all over the county. We have to get away from the damaging supply approach and zone land where it makes sense...

I agree 100%. What is happening in Meath is an utter disgrace. I never thought I'd say it but that Christ we've got someone with some intelligence and some cop on in the Dept of the Environment after that idiot Cullen. What is happening in Meath is a scandal. We'll need another tribunal to get to the bottom of just who is paying whom to get through these crazy rezonings. It is way past the time that we get ignorant councillors out of planning while there is still some parts of the country they haven't raped with stupid planning decisions.

I think the solution is quite simple. County development plans must be legally required to be consistent with national policy, rather than "having regard to" it, if that's the form of words that currently applies?

Also, I don't think it's corruption that is driving this. It's just a competitive situation between the counties surrounding Dublin to attract population, and presumably the funding that goes with it (not that I agree with that)

I'm also a bit perplexed that people (like the Greens) are calling for more centralization of government (eg the four Dublin LAs to be merged). I thought they believed in devolving democracy to the lowest levels.

There is often a conflict between local and national politics (eg. landfills and incinerators) but it should be possible to resolve these conflicts without diminishing local democracy, or handing over a function as important as zoning to unelected and unaccountable officials.

I think the Greens are promoting a regional assembly whereby development plans will have to fit in with a coherent policy across a number of jurisdictions and will have to comply with the transport strategy. It would be headed by a directly elected mayor. I think cllr was advocating something similar a while back. All development control/planning application issues would continue to be dealt with at local level.

I don't believe this goes far enough. I think one body for Dublin Meath Kildare and Wicklow should be set up to oversee transport and development plans for the region. Otherwise we're gonna remain in this mess, where gombeens can do what they like in the interests of their parish, their relatives, their mates and their seats in the chamber