Dunboyne Combined Residents Association
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Introduction
Dunboyne Combined Residents Association comprises of seventeen residents associations with a total membership of 1500 households, representing 80% of the residents of Dunboyne.
The current Dunboyne Development Plan was ratified in 1997 and should not be due for review until 2002. The current Meath County Development Plan was ratified in 1994 and was due for review in 1999.
The DCRA had been playing a very active role in the planning process for a number of years and in particular its effects on Dunboyne, Clonee and their environs.
July 1998: DCRA made a submission to the planning consultants, Brady Shipman and Martin, who had been commissioned by the Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey TD, to draw up a plan for the greater Dublin area including counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, with particular emphasis on reducing traffic problems and the prevention of urban sprawl in rural areas.
1999 Meath County Council decided to review all their town development plans at the same time as the county plan but we were told by the planners that as Dunboyne Development Plan was only halfway into its five years lifespan, it would only involve minimal changes.
March 1999: The Minister for the Environment launched the Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPG) for the Greater Dublin Area. He instructed each of the seven local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area to amend their plans to comply with the S.P.G. recommendations. The SPG have also been incorporated in the Planning and Development Act 2000, so now they have the force of law.
The main thrust of the SPG is that the Greater Dublin Area is to be divided into the Metropolitan Area and the Hinterland Area. Development is to be concentrated within the Metropolitan Area and in five major development centres in the Hinterland Area. In the case of Meath, Navan was chosen as the development centre. Other towns and villages in the Hinterland Area were to develop to meet local needs only and not to cater for overspill from the Metropolitan Area which in this case extends to the Fingal County Boundary at Clonee. The effect of this would be to reduce urban sprawl.
There are to be Strategic Green Belts separating the Metropolitan Area and the development centres such as Navan. The Guidelines are also quite specific that villages such as Dunboyne and Clonee which are in the hinterland area but close to the Metropolitan Area are in need of special protection from overspill from Dublin.
May 1999: DCRA meeting was held with local election candidates from the Dunshaughlin Electoral Area where they were asked for their views on two questions:
· Preservation of the Green Belt
· The zoning of Dunboyne Castle
All were in favour of the preservation of the Green Belt and assured us there was no threat to same. The majority backed the retention of the existing agricultural zoning on Dunboyne Castle lands.
In July 1999 DCRA submitted a 26-page document to Meath County Council entitled: "Towards a Dunboyne Developmet Plan 2000" in preparation for their Draft Development Plan. Key elements:
· Protection of green belt between Dunboyne and Clonee east of the old railway line.
· Preservation of Dunboyne Castle and grounds in their present zoning for use as a public park.
March 2000: Meath County Council published their Draft Development Plan for display for three months to the end of June. All six local councillors reneged on their pre-election promise on the Green Belt and voted to:
· rezone 26 acres for residential (mostly high density) at Walshe's land at Courthill;
· extend the development boundary of Dunboyne to include 180 acres east of the old railway line (ie green belt) for future development pending consultation with various bodies including Iarnrod Eireann.
DCRA mounted a huge campaign locally to oppose the development of the Green Belt. A massive poster campaign was launched and by the end of the three month consultation period 30th June 2000 sixteen hundred letters of objection were sent to Meath Co. Council. . A substantial submission from DCRA was put forward to Meath Co. Council with twenty-two reasons for preserving the Green Belt.
September 2000: To re-enforce local concerns on the green belt re-zoning DCRA called a public meeting in Dunboyne Community Centre. Seven hundred people attended this meeting with three of our six local councillors, namely, Cllrs B Fitzgerald Indpendent, Mary Bergin FG, Nick Killian FF, representing Cllrs Conor Tormey FF, Cllr Oliver Brooks FF and Mary Wallace FF, TD. Both John Bruton TD and Noel Dempsey TD were also invited to attend but did not. All but five residents opposed the Green Belt rezoning.
October/November 2000 our six local councillors once again sat down to look at submissions on the first draft and prepare amendments to a second draft, to be was published on the 13th November. To our shock and horror the amendments to the second draft was much worse than the draft plan with full rezoning to residential of:
· 17 acres west of railway at Millfarm/Old Fairgreen @ 12 per acre = 204 homes
· 113 acres east of the railway line at 12 houses per acre = 1524 houses;
· 50 acres of the Castle grounds at 12 houses per acre = 596 houses;
· 26 acres of Walshe's from first draft (high density) = 500 houses.
This is a total of approximately 2660 houses. At three persons per house this would mean an additional population of 7800 on top of our present population of 5500, an increase of 140%. This is a massive increase especially as the population of Dunboyne had already doubled between 1996 and 2000 and is in need of time to settle.
The second draft/amendments were on public display for a five week period from 13th November to 20th December which was totally inadequate since there was a sevenfold increase in the amount of land being rezoned compared with the first draft. We notified Meath County Council of that fact.
Not only did our councillors ignore all the representations of residents but they also:
· went against the professional advice of MCC planners;
· ignored the Strategic Planning Guidelines;
· ignored the views of John Bruton who said there should be no development of the Green Belt at this time and that it could be looked at if and when the railway is re-opened;
· ignored the views of the local Fianna Fail Cumann on the Green Belt.
November 2000: On the very day, 6th November 2000, the amendments/second draft was voted through by all the members of MCC in Navan, Dunboyne was totally cut off from the outside world, surrounded by floods on all sides. Many homes were under a meter of water. Some of the worse effected had been built in the last four years on the flood plain of the Castle River despite objections from residents which highlighted the potential for flooding. Insurance companies now are seriously considering the possibility of pursuing MCC or the developer for compensation given that they ignored the clear warnings given.
Most of the land rezoned in the Dunboyne/Meath County Council Development Plan 2000 is directly in the flood plain of the Castle and Tolka rivers and was extensively flooded last November. We are advised that should MCC rezone these lands they would be leaving themselves open to claims for compensation by residents should their homes be damaged in any future flooding. Development on these flood plains would require significant raising of the land. This would leave floodwaters no outlet except through existing houses and estates in the village.
Nick Killian FF,Conor Tormey FF,Oliver Brookes FF
Mary Bergin FG, John Fanning FG
Brian Fitzgerald Independent (ex Labour)
How they voted:
Green Belt rezoning: proposed B. Fitzgerald
Seconded O. Brooks
All voted in favour except Mary Bergin who voted against.
Dunboyne Castle rezoning: proposed M. Bergin
Seconded B. Fitzgerald
All voted in favour
John Bruton circulated a statement to all houses in Dunboyne stating his opposition to the rezoning of the Green Belt until the railway reopens (if ever). DCRA met with him and FG Councillor Mary Bergin in October when he re-affirmed his stated position on the green belt and his opposition to re-zoning of the Castle lands until ways were explored of having the Castle grounds acquired as a public park for all the community. We urged him to use his position as FG Leader to influence his Party Councillors to support this stand. He was adament that it would be improper for him to do this. We were shocked to discover less than two weeks later that Cllr Bergin proposed the re-zoning of Dunboyne Castle lands which was supported by Cllr John Fanning FG.
Mary Wallace - refused to meet us for nine months from Feb 2000 to Nov 2000. Said she knew nothing of rezonings and never discussed it with her personal assistant, Councillor Nick Killian who works daily in her office. Last April she said she needed time to study the Dunboyne plan yet in November she said she knew nothing about it. She still however, appointed councillor Nick Killian to represent her at the public meeting in September where he spoke very much in favour of Green Belt rezoning.
Noel Dempsey -In response to a Dail Question (22.11.00) said that his Department was writing to Meath County Council seeking comments on the compatibility of the proposals for Dunboyne and Clonee with the Strategic Planning Guidelines and asking for a full report within four weeks.
December 2000: 15th December 2000 Ms Moylan sent a seven page letter to Meath County Council expressing Department of the Environment concern on breaches of the Strategic Planning Guidelines at 1. Kilbride. 2. 250 acre industrial rezoning at Clonee. 3. Rezoning of lands east of the railway line at Dunboyne (green belt)
February 2001: Meath County Council replied to Ms Moylan on 6th February. Their response substantially ignored all the points raised by Ms Moylan.
17th February: DCRA made a very substantial submission to Ms Moylan on breaches of the SPGs at Clonee and Dunboyne. She did not respond to this letter.
23rd February Ms Moylan wrote to MCC informing them that the Department of the Environment was satisfied that Meath County Council's response of the 6th February clarified the substantive issues raised in her letter.15th December 2000 and that the Department accepted that the proposed amendments to the Meath County Council Development Plan were substantially in compliance with the Strategic Planning Guidelines.
March 2001: At the full Council meeting held on 5th March the County Development Plan 2001 incorporating the Dunboyne Development Plan was ratified. The only change to the amended plan was that the lands east of the railway line were not re-zoned but are the subject of an area action plan to be completed in twelve months.
April 2001: The County Development Plan was published on 17th April 2001. What was rezoned residential in this Meath County Council Development Plan was 23 acres: Courthill - High Density 17 acres: near Old Fairgreen 50 acres: Dunboyne Castle Lands 113 acres: East of the disused railway line has been earmarked for future development. There are also 20 acres zoned from the 1997 Plan which have not yet been developed.
May 2001: High Court granted two plaintiffs a Judicial Review of the Meath County Council Development Plan 2001. This case is ongoing.
February 2002: Meath County Council have advertised that an Integrated Area Action Plan is being prepared for the lands East of the disused rail line in Dunboyne. Parties interested in making a submission must do so by 5pm Friday 1st March 2002. END/16.02.02
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