Preserving our Green Belt

Approximately 700 attended the meeting- All present, except for three people, approved the motion that the existing green belt should be preserved. Earlier this year this motion was also approved by approximately 1,600 residents who sent individually signed letters to Meath Comity Council.

As our elected representatives and with due respect for the democratic process we ask that you take on board the expressed wish of our community and vote for the preservation of our green belt.

Meath County Council in its mission statement commits itself to "... partnership with local communities so as to improve the quality of life and living environment of all our citizens". Furthermore it is a strategic objective of the County Council to develop "... a more participative local democracy".

Please avail of this opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to these ideals.

Yours sincerely

Jim McGrath

Chairman

Press Release: 15.09.00 Subject: Dunboyne Combined Residents Association: Public Meeting held on 11.09.00 at the Community Centre, Dunboyne on "The Preservation of the Dunboyne Green Belt". Pages: 2

Dunboyne Shows Its Strong Opposition to Green Belt Re-zoning at Public Meeting

The six Area Local County Councillors and two Local TD's were invited to the meeting. Mary Bergin - FG, Nick Killian -FF and Bnan Fitzgerald-Independent attended.

The Dunboyne Combined Residents Association (DCRA) called the meeting. DCRA put a forceful and. reasoned case for the preservation of the Green Belt drawn from material it had previously submitted to Meath County Council and based on government policy guidelines. Some of the reasons put forward to support the preservation of the Green Belt:-

Chromic Traffic congestion Intolerable pressure on community facilities especially schools it is

Government policy that only houses to satisfy local needs should be built

Sufficient land is already zoned to satisfy local housing needs for the next 15 years

A recent Government audit shows sufficient land zoned for 53,000 houses in Fingal alone

Inadequate transport infrastructure - the train will not be a reality for 15-20 years

The proposed rezoning is contrary to the new Planning Act

The Councillors' pre-election promise to protect the Green Belt now broken

The Councillors responding to the above gave only two main reasons for the destruction of our Green Belt. Firstly, to facilitate an increase in the rates base for County Meath. Secondly, to meet local demand for houses which is approximately 50 at this point in time.

The Fine Gael Councillor agreed the Green Belt should be preserved, a statement which provoked long applause.

The Independent and Fianna Fail Councillors said they wanted the Green Belt developed. Their presentation was unconvincing and the motion which was put to the meeting for the retention of the Green Belt was overwhelmingly carried with only 5 of the 700 people voting against.

The case put by the Fianna Fall and Independent Councillors, put without reference to any planning principles or guidelines, was derided by the audience for its lack of credibility. The Independent Councillor appealed to emotion not principle, while the FF Councillor's presentation was devoid of substantive argument. These Councillors were accused of failing to live up to their promise, made to DCRA prior to the Local Elections last year. 1hat commitment was to preserve the Dunboyne Green Belt, a charge denied by the Independent Councillor who was unable to repudiate the evidence presented.

DCRA reported to the meeting that approximately 1,300 plus residents recently sent individually signed letters to Meath County Council in support of the preservation of the Green Belt.

DCRA made it clear that development on the Green Belt would be contrary to Government Policy as outlined in the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area now incorporated into the new Planning Act. Residents of Dunboyne have repeatedly stated their total opposition to the destruction of their Green Belt.

There was a strong feeling that our elected public representatives were not in fact representing our community. This time Dunbovne residents will hold them to account and will continue to do so into the future because the reasons given by them do not stand up.

The Chairman concluded that when the Councillors come to make decisions, democracy requires that those decisions reflect the views of the community that they represent. If they don't do that then democracy is up for grabs - a statement which was massively endorsed by the residents.

Contact: Jim MeGrath, Chaiman of DCRA 9 Elton Drive, Millfarm, Dunboyne, Co. Meath Tel: 01.8252189 Email: mcgrathjim@esatclear.ie