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Divisive rezoning vote passed
by P. Lanner

“This has been the most divisive proposal to come before the people of the area in a long time.” So said Cllr. Ruth Coppinger during the debate on the rezoning of Kellystown at the recent county council meeting.

“This issue has split residents’ associations and community councils and the reason is that nobody wants another 1,500 houses in the area unless there is a massive improvement in transport and infrastructure,” she said.

Following a lengthy debate, the council voted by 12 votes to 10 in favour of the rezoning.

Of the eight local Dublin 15 councillors, four voted in favour. These were the three Fianna Fáil councillors, Brenda Clifford, Mags Murray and Margaret Richardson, and Fine Gael’s Eithne Loftus. The two Labour Party councillors, Peggy Hamill and Michael O’Donovan and Socialist Party councillor Ruth Coppinger voted against. Sinn Fein’s Paul Donnelly was unable to attend the meeting and didn’t vote.

In effect all Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors on Fingal County Council block-voted in favour of the rezoning and with the assistance of two independent councillors from Balbriggan the vote was carried. The Labour Party, Socialists and Green Party all voted against. Ironically, two councillors Paul Donnelly (SF) and Joe Corr (Green Party) were unable to attend the meeting and had they been there it would have tied the vote at 12 – 12. This would have left the Mayor – local Labour councillor Michael O’Donovan in a position to use his casting vote to defeat the proposal.

The basic proposal sought to rezone three parcels of open space/green belt land at Kellystown totalling 147 acres. The first area comprising 60 acres to be rezoned from ‘green belt’ to ‘residential’; the second area of 6.9 acres from ‘open space to ‘suburban centre’ and the third comprising 79 acres from ‘green belt’ to ‘open space.’ According to Gilbert Power, director of planning with Fingal County Council “there will be a Local Area Plan prepared for the entirety of the lands that will function as a framework for establishing a new residential neighbourhood in this area of Dublin 15 of approximately 1,500 new dwellings.”

A number of councillors supporting the proposal objected to the suggestion by Cllr. Coppinger that people had been manipulated by the promise of school sites. According to Cllr. Margaret Richardson “nobody has been manipulated. The Socialist Party held a public meeting and only ten people turned up so are you saying you have a mandate from the people to vote against this? You have no mandate from anyone.”

The two local Labour Party councillors, Peggy Hamill and Michael O’Donovan, also spoke against the proposal. According to Cllr. Hamill “it is very unfortunate that you now have two groups of people in Dublin 15 – those in the schools group who want a school place for their children in 2009 and those who oppose any more housing in the area.”

Cllr. O’Donovan said that he “personally believes that references to linking the development with Metro West are crazy. Even if Metro West was funded tomorrow there won’t be a train on the line before 2016 or 2017 at the earliest. If we are linking this to Metro West we may as well throw the whole thing out,” he said.

Fianna Fáil’s Mags Murray also spoke in favour of the proposal saying “there are very few areas of development which are skirted by a railway station at both ends. With the phasing proposed for this development I don’t think there are many other sites that will have that much access to local rail services.”

The other two local councillors who opposed the proposal, Cllr Eithne Loftus (FG) and Cllr. Brenda Clifford did not take part in the debate.

In many ways the vote was a reflection of the discussion that had gone on locally. The Dublin 15 Community Council was literally split down the middle on the issue, ultimately opposing it on the casting vote of the chairman.

This was the third time in the past five years that attempts were made to have these lands rezoned by the county council. Each time the moves have caused great division in the community. This latest – and successful attempt – has proved the most contentious using as it did the issue of school sites to garner support for the rezoning.

Many promises have been made about phasing, open space provision, better transport infrastructure and a range of other positive benefits. If these undertakings come to fruition then the community will have made some gains. If not – and bitter experience might caution any great optimism – Dublin 15 may end up being even more grid-locked than at present.

However democracy has prevailed. Now it is up to the Council officials to ensure that ALL the promises made in recent months are honoured.

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