Donabate Variation 34 Campaign and the On-going scandal of development on the Peninsula.

Contrary to the wishes of the community, during 2004 a coalition county councillors rammed through a variation to the 1999 county development plan for Donabate with the retiring County Manager. Normal practice would have been to dicuss this in the 2005 plan.
This involved rezoning large swathes of additional lands for housing, on top of significant lands zoned but not developed already. When taken with proposals for the development of St. Itas in Portrane Hospital these lands would have the potential to create a town the size of Dundalk, with none of the many secondary schools, Garda Stations, Library, Industrial Parks, Public Transport capacity, relief road or any other necessary infrastructure. We organised a number of packed public meetings, hundreds of objections from local people. Opposition was strong from concerned local councillors but they were outnumbered and most of the rezoning was voted through.
As a result of these representations, the head of planning in FCC promised a public meeting, subsequently held in November, which was well attended, but failed to address the real anger in the community. See details in community newsletter before Christmas.
Some of the councillors supporting this rezoning lost seats in the recent local elections. So we now have an opportunity, over the next few months, to influence events, as more of the elected representatives are in tune with the community and the normal planning process in Northern Europe. We must represent to them as the new development plan is voted upon.