Kilcoole and Newtown Draft Development Plans

I wish to respond to Councillor Derek Mitchell’s letter of 23rd December concerning the Kilcoole and Newtown Draft Development Plans.

Councillor Mitchell claims that he “strongly objected” to both of these plans. In support of this claim, he refers to a July meeting of Wicklow County Council at which I seconded an objection which he made. The minutes of the July meeting show that his objection to the Kilcoole plan, and to the doubling of the population which it entailed, rested solely on the plan’s failure to provide for an improved railway line. Furthermore, Councillor Mitchell presented this Draft Plan in its entirety to the people of Kilcoole at a subsequent public meeting held by Fine Gael without making local people aware of any strong objections which he held.

I share Councillor Mitchell’s concern regarding the capacity of the existing railway line to cater for a greatly expanded population in Kilcoole. I certainly seconded his statement to this effect at the July meeting. I could not possibly agree with him, however, that the Draft Plan would be acceptable in its current form should improvements to the railway line be provided for.

This Draft Plan is flawed in many respects. These flaws include not merely the dramatic population increase envisaged over a five year period (which will undoubtedly exceed the capacity of a community of this size to absorb such growth) but also the introduction of excessive levels of industrial zoning in the absence of any strategic industrial development plan for the county, and the failure to provide for an upgrading of the existing road network before significant levels of residential development occur.

I repeatedly voiced these and other objections to the proposed Draft Plans at a number of committee meetings prior to the full Council meeting in July. The Draft Plans are now in the public domain, but they should certainly not be seen as final or definitive. This crucial stage in the planning process allows for the views of local communities with regard to fundamental aspects of the plan to be communicated to their elected representatives. We must now wait and see whether the elected members of Wicklow County Council will respond to the overwhelming level of clearly articulated public concern by revisiting those plans, and revising them as necessary.

Yours etc.

__________________ Deirdre de Burca
Wicklow County Councillor (Green Party)

For further information please contact Deirdre de Burca on 086 8061450 or email deburca@wicklowgreens.org.