More than 2,000 acres of agricultural land in north Co Dublin are being rezoned for housing and an even larger acreage for industrial uses under Fingal County Council's draft development plan.
Most of the zonings are being made by the county manager, Mr William Soffe, with the rest coming at the initiative of councillors. They constitute the most massive change in land use in the Dublin area for 25 years.
For the first time, figures compiled by the council's planners - some of whom are known to be deeply concerned about the scale of what is proposed - give a breakdown, area by area, of the new zonings in the draft plan.
Balbriggan has 738 acres of farmland rezoned for residential development, most of it at a higher density than heretofore, and 82 acres for industry. It also acquires a greenbelt of 1,974 acres, on which other developments may occur.
The tables show that Skerries has a further 60 acres for housing, with a similar amount of land allocated for the same use in Donabate, 20 acres in Portrane, 91 acres in Rush, and 188 acres in Lusk - all of which are located on a commuter rail line.
The figure given for Swords, the county town, is even higher at 373 acres, followed by Blanchardstown, with 368 acres rezoned for housing and nearly 600 acres allocated for development as a science and technology park, following the lead of IBM.
Malahide has a further 59 acres zoned for housing, though it is not clear whether this includes additional zonings made by the councillors at meetings over the past two weeks. If not, most of the figures quoted would be significantly higher.
The most controversial rezonings relate to the loss to housing of two large tracts of greenbelt between Baldoyle and Portmarnock, amounting to about 200 acres, as well as the open space of the former Phoenix Park Racecourse. These are expected to generate the largest volume of objections when the draft plan goes on public display for a statutory period of three months. There will also be opposition to some of the haphazard rezoning decisions made on a vote by the council.
The county manager, Mr Soffe, has defended his plan on the basis that it provides "choice" for people about where to live and work in Fingal. He has stressed that the rezonings made by officials were done "blind", without knowing the identity of landowners.
The rezonings in Fingal substantially exceed those made by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin county councils in their plans - with over 600 acres and 1,400 acres rezoned for housing respectively. Dun Laoghaire's plan has already been adopted.
One of the incidental beneficiaries of Fingal's changes may be Mr Charles Haughey, the former Taoiseach. Although the road frontage of his estate in Kinsealy is covered by a tree preservation order, there is a general objective in the area to consolidate and develop the village.
