The final date for submissions in relation to the proposed amendments to the Leitrim County Development Plan is Dec 8th.

The original plan contained a Land Use Strategy which aimed to deal with some of the more negative results of previous land use policy in County Leitrim, most particularly the concentration of one-off rural housing around Carrick on Shannon and the high vacancy rates brought about by speculative development.

Of course, this didn’t sit too well with our Councillors, for whom proper planning and sustainable development are forms of witchcraft which must be resisted at every turn.

Basically, they voted (unanimously) to insert an Amendment into the Draft Plan which effectively removes the Land Use Strategy and returns us to the Land Use policy of the previous Plan, which as we all know, was a complete joke in terms of planning.

In fairness to them, the County Manager and Senior Planners tried to convince them not to do this, but to no avail. I’ve reproduced a section of the Draft Plan here, which outlines the Managers concerns re. the Amendment. When you read this sort of stuff, you’d wonder if we’d be better off if we didn’t have any Local Government at all.

3.3 Amendments to Land Use Strategy in respect to Rural Housing in the Countryside – Section 2.01.04 of the Draft Plan refers.

Proposed amendment No 11 refers. The more recent amendment brought forward by the Members to convert, areas identified in the Draft Plan as areas of low capacity, to areas of medium capacity, represents a significant modification of the rural settlement strategy. This proposal taken in conjunction with other related amendments including;

a) the widening of the categories of development considered acceptable in medium capacity areas (by the inclusion of item 4 to policy 1.4d of the Draft Plan - pg 42 of the Draft Plan refers) (amendment 12 refers)

b) the omission of the definition proposed in the Managers Report in terms of “reasonable commuting distance” (pg 59 of Managers Report refers)

c) the reduction of the medium capacity area around Garadice Lake

d) the omission of a small stretch of low capacity along the public road leading from Farnaght to the County Boundary near Drumlish Co. Longford (amendment 10)

is likely, in the long term at least, to have the following impacts:

1) Less environmental protection in environmentally sensitive areas/areas under pressure from development. The protection of these areas is considered of significant importance in terms of features such as; water quality, public health, the rural character, visual amenities, ecology and heritage. Of particular note is the increased difficulty in meeting the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.

2) A reduction in the capacity of these areas to accommodate development arising from local needs - leaving it more difficult in the long term to accommodate those with a local need.

3) Less likelihood of achieving a more balance pattern of development within the county. The amendment removes a positive discriminate in favour of those rural areas in need of economic and social support ie areas identified as “high capacity”.

4) A reduction in the demand for housing within the serviced areas of nearby towns and villages - leading to higher vacancy rates and less vibrant towns and villages.

5) A lesser possibility of reducing the overall residential vacancy rate in the County which at 27% is the highest in the Country (CSO 2006).

6) The creation of a greater demand on the resource of the Local Authority - leading to a demand for the uneconomic extension of public services and failities such as public footpaths, public lighting, foul and surface water sewer.

7) Increased risk of the coalescence of towns and villages such as Kinlough/Tullaghan/Bundoran/Ballyshannon, Carrick on Shannon/Leitrim Village/Drumshanbo, (Ballinamore/Fenagh and Dromod/Roosky - leading to the suburbanisation of the countryside through undesirable ribbon development and also compromising the urban form and character of towns and villages.

8 The creation, in certain instances, of an unrealistic expectation among those who would otherwise fail to qualify under local needs criteria of a grant of permission. Well established planning principles as set out in national guidance, “Sustainable Rural Housing” remain to be applied.

9) The creation of greater stress on the development management process in its effort to ensure that the environmental integrity of these areas is not compromised.

10) An addition to the pool of persons who would qualify under local needs in the areas identified in the Draft Plan as low capacity - placing these areas under greater environmental stress.

11) The cumulative impact items 1 – 10 above is likely to challenge well established principles of sustainable development.