Residents of Carlow town have been given a deadline of January 28th to make their views known on a controversial plan to rezone parts of the Oak Park demesne, headquarters of Teagasc, the agricultural training authority, for residential development.
More than 3,000 people have signed a petition calling for the retention of amenity zoning for the demesne, but this was not enough to persuade county councillors to keep it in the proposed local area plan, which is to go on public display next month.
"The people of Carlow should be fully aware that Carlow County Council is proposing to facilitate the development of this green space, which is the last remaining rural recreational area accessible from the town," says the Save Oak Park Group.
The proposed rezoning, which was approved by the council earlier this month, could also result in the construction of factories, warehouses, distribution centres and housing on "this wonderful landscape", the campaign group has warned. The proposal includes a plan to build a new road through Oak Park, connecting the Athy road with the Dublin road, to facilitate its development. "This will have major implications for wildlife habitats in its path," the group warned.
The Oak Park estate is located two miles north of Carlow town. The original house is still intact and was recently upgraded to house the headquarters of Teagasc. It had been owned by the Bruen family, descendents of Cromwellian settlers.
After the last family member died in 1954, the estate was taken over by the Land Commission. The house and 750 acres were given to An Foras Talúntais (later to become Teagasc). It still carries out crop research on a farm at Oak Park.
In 2005, Teagasc handed over 100 acres of lakeside woodland to Carlow County Council and this has since been opened to the public as a highly popular forest park.
A further 200 acres is held by Carlow Golf Club and 15 acres by the local rugby club.
The remainder of the 1,500- acre estate was sub-divided into small holdings by the Land Commission, most of which are still being farmed.
Towards the end of 2006, two of these farms - totalling 89 acres - were bought by the New Ross-based Nolan Group. It is believed that up to €20 million was paid for them, considerably in excess of their agricultural value. It is these lands that are the subject of a rezoning proposal for residential and commercial development, with the approval of county councillors.
