Fingal county councillors have signed off on proposals to rezone enough land to accommodate about 40 per cent more than the projected 2011 population of a quarter of a million people.
The Fingal Draft County Development Plan, to go on public display in two weeks' time, carries a "health warning" from the manager, Mr Willie Soffe, that councillors have included excess provision for one-off rural housing, in defiance of a recently adopted rural housing policy.
The excess in zoned land - about 300 hectares - included in the plan is in addition to the 1,400 acres of undeveloped land remaining at the end of the 1999-2004 plan.
The council had initially intended to rezone 220 additional hectares for the 2005-2011 County Development Plan, which would have resulted in housing provision for about 30 per cent above the expected 2011 population.
But motions tabled by councillors during draft development plan debates over the past month increased the figure. Among the most contentious aspects of the development plan debates were proposals from councillors to create more than 130 one-off houses.
In some cases, the amendments to the manager's proposals will effectively retrospectively sanction houses which were built without the benefit of planning permission, according to a council spokeswoman.
The issue led to heated exchanges between the council planners and elected members during the debates.
The councillors and the management did agree on the creation of one site near Ashbourne, on the Meath/Fingal border, for a super-store for a major retailer, should one be sought.
Among the areas to be rezoned is land around the centre of Swords and along a proposed metro line between Swords and Dublin airport.
