Nearly 1,200 acres of agricultural land have been zoned for housing in South Dublin County Council's draft development plan which went on public display yesterday for the statutory threemonth period.
The newly zoned land on the fringes of existing built-up areas would be sufficient to build 10,000 houses at standard suburban densities of 10 to 12 houses per acre, or even more if higher densities are permitted, as envisaged in the plan.
Higher-density housing, such as apartment blocks, is to be encouraged in town or district centres and along major public transport routes.
One current planning application is for a scheme of 200 apartments on a site adjoining the regional hospital in Tallaght.
The largest single tract of rezoned land consists of 500 acres directly south of Lucan, including some 27 acres around Somerton House, which Mr Liam Lawlor TD is believed to have sold last year to a firm of house-builders.
Other major rezonings include 202 acres in the Ballycullen-Oldcourt area, 166 acres south of Killinarden, 116 acres on the edge of Newcastle, 75 acres in Rathcoole, 62 acres at Fortunestown, 33 acres at Edmondstown and 29 acres in Saggart.
The rezonings will have a huge impact on the villages of Newcastle, Rathcoole and Saggart. Newcastle's population would increase fivefold from the current figure of 1,000, while Rathcoole's and Saggart's would double to 5,000 and 2,000 respectively.
Mr Frank Kavanagh, the South Dublin county manager, said the extent of land rezoning in the draft plan was "not excessive, having regard to the unprecedented levels of development" since the last county plan was adopted in December 1993.
He described the new plan as an "absolute imperative" for the development of South Dublin, even in the absence of strategic planning guidelines for the region as a whole.
"What we have on display will not affect the future regional strategy," he said.
Mr Kavanagh said there was a need to zone more land for housing as the county has only a two-year supply of zoned land at current rates of house-building. The new land earmarked for residential development would be sufficient to last for about seven years.
The estimated cost of servicing the new lands with water, drainage and sewerage is £40 million, but he stressed this would not be met by the council. It would be "borne by the developers, minus whatever grant we would get from the Department of the Environment".
The county manager also emphasised that all new residential-zoned land would be subject to the preparation of detailed action plans "to ensure that all community facilities, such as shops and schools, will be incorporated in the proposed developments".
Mr Kavanagh said the council also planned to develop new housing on areas of "excess open space", waste ground in and around existing housing estates, with the aim of restoring an "urban environment", but he conceded that such schemes often met resistance.
He pointed out that the draft plan also incorporates the Tallaght 2000 strategy, which aims to give the county's principal town some of the ambience of Galway or Limerick by creating proper streets and squares to encourage more social interaction.
He also stressed that all the elements of the Dublin Transportation Initiative's strategy had been incorporated in the draft, including the proposed Luas light rail line, two quality bus corridors, the completion of the M50 and numerous cycleways.
The county council is also moving to develop its own 500-acre landbank at Kilmahuddrick, south of the Grand Canal, as a major industrial estate, so that more people in South Dublin can get jobs in the area instead of having to commute into the city centre.
Mr Eamonn Walsh, the council's cathaoirleach, noted that there was a large number of young people in South Dublin.
"If we sell the idea to them that it's a good place to live and work, we have to follow on from that and give them an opportunity to remain here."
He conceded that many elements of the draft plan were bound to be "very controversial" and a lot of people would "disagree fundamentally" with some of the zonings proposed.
But, he said, this was all part of an "exercise in local democracy".
Cllr Mary Muldoon (Ind) complained that far too much land was being rezoned. "They're just sprawling it out more and more and I'm not happy with it," she said, adding that the council had been denied a roll-call vote on the decision to put the draft on public display.
