"Hands off our open spaces" says de Burca!

"Variation 6.12 to the County Development Plan, if adopted, will allow for the development of hotels, guesthouses and country houses in landscape zones which are currently protected" says councillor de Burca. "This poses a serious threat to special landscapes and to protected wildlife areas within the county". She points out that this variation, if passed, will allow building in places such as Bray Head, the Little and Large Sugarloaf, The Murrough, and Wicklow Head.

"In effect, this variation will strip away the protection which is currently in place for Natural Heritage Areas, Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Special Areas of Conservation, Coastal Zones and all lands designated as open or green spaces" says councillor de Burca. "These zones include areas designated under the EU Habitats Directive and the variation is therefore an infringement of these directives" she adds.

Councillor de Burca believes that the only beneficiaries of this proposed variation will be hotel owners and developers. "It is unlikely that any developer would wish to build less than a fifty bedroom hotel due to economies of scale in providing such accommodation" she says. "These buildings are likely therefore to have three or more storeys and will certainly be visually obtrusive within these landscapes".

She points out that these special landscape zones are currently accessible to visitors and argues that there is no need to provide accommodation for visitors within these zones. "The more built development in these zones, the more the value of these areas is reduced" she claims.

Councillor de Burca is calling on her fellow councillors to reject Variation 6.12 when it comes before them and to retain the protection for special landscape zones as stated in the 1999 County Development Plan.

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