A PUBLIC inquiry is being convened by An Bord Pleanala today on an appeal by the Delgany Area Residents' Action Group. It concerns Wicklow County Council's decision to grant planning permission for the development of a suburban estate of 294 houses on the edge of the village.
The scheme by Avmark Ltd, a company controlled by the house builder Mr Frank Woods, was sanctioned by the Wicklow county manager, Mr Blaise Treacy, despite the receipt of some 600 local objections.
Mr Walter Pfeiffer, chairman of the action group, is angry that these representations and the views of county councillors appear to have been discounted.
He also argued that the scheme contravened the Wicklow county plan and should have been left to the councillors to decide.
The action group said hundreds of local residents had made their own submissions to An Bord Pleanala against "this large scale insensitive development". They believe it "will destroy the unique character of the villages of Delgany, Killincarrig and Black lion."
Several public meetings have been held, as well as a campaign to raise some £12,000 to engage experts to handle the appeal. "The message is that there are a lot of very angry residents in Delgany and the surrounding area," the action group said.
Its appeal notes that the Avmark land, which is zoned for housing, is the largest single site in Delgany, and says any development needs to be "carefully considered" by subjecting it to an environmental impact assessment and an area action plan, as provided for under the Planning Acts.
Due to its nature and scale, the proposed scheme of 294 houses would be incompatible with the nucleus settlements of Delgany and Killincarrig, which are characterised by mature houses along the roads and some post 1960 houses on relatively large plots, according to the action group.
What Avmark proposed would constitute "standard suburban development in what is currently a rural area," it says. To cater for it the county manager's decision would require extensive road widening between Christ Church and the Delgany Inn, resulting in a "major loss of amenity".
Given that the scheme sought to realise the maximum density of seven houses per acre, its opponents argue that insufficient attention was paid to the scenic quality of the site, the presence of mature trees and deep hedgerows, and the provision of open space for active recreation.
The residents claim the single access road serving the proposed housing estate would represent a traffic hazard at its junction with the main road through Delgany. They also insist the road network in the area is "completely inadequate" to cater for so many new houses.
The action group's submission notes the initial report of the county council planner who dealt with the case, dated June 1995, provided a very good description" of the existing landscape and quantified the minimum reduction in density required to meet the county plan's standards.
"While the executive planner changed his position in his final report of January 3rd, 1996, there is no detailed justification as to why he considers the revised proposal meets all the concerns expressed in his earlier report and recommendation for refusal, particularly in relation to density."
The group said there was also "evidence to suggest that large scale developments appeared to be treated favourably by the council whilst local individuals with small scale development proposals face extreme difficulties in negotiating the vagaries of the council's planning requirements.
