County development plan faces rejection by minister

Date Published: 09-Apr-2009

GALWAY County Councillors unanimously passed a motion this week to seek a special hearing at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government due to concerns that Minister John Gormley may insist on a number of stringent measures to curb development and conserve nature in the new County Development Plan.

Galway County Councillors formally adopted their final draft of the Plan at a marathon meeting on Monday, choosing to ignore a submission already received from the Department of the Environment, criticising what it perceives as a lack of regard for conservation in the county.

Councillors are concerned that if the EU Habitats Directive is fully enforced, up to two thirds of the Connemara region and the islands may be designated as areas upon which development cannot take place.

In a strongly worded letter to the Council, a member of the Spatial Policy Section at the Department of the Environment stated the “absence of a completed Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Directive at this advanced stage remains a serious concern.”

Highlighting the importance of…