‘Elite vested interests’ behind key land rezoning

Date Published: 24-Jan-2011

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

A city councillor has dramatically accused “elite vested interests” of influencing key land rezoning decisions in Galway over the past 20 years, and criticised her elected colleagues for ignoring advice from city planners.

Fine Gael Councillor Hildegarde Naughton said the vested interests had been “pulling strings” in the Council chamber and had councillors “doing their bidding”.

She made the accusation during a discussion on the Draft City Development Plan 2011-17 in which a series of recommendations – made by city planners and the City Manager that a series of tracts of land not be rezoned – were ignored through majority vote.

“We’re either here to serve the public interest or vested interests. There’s an elite in this city that have been pulling strings for the last 20 years and councillors are doing their bidding for them. I’d ask the councillors to have the courage to do what’s right,” said Cllr Naughton, who is also a candidate for Galway West in the upcoming election.

She voted against her colleagues within the controlling ‘Mayoral pact’ on the Council in a number of key decisions.

“I’m voting with the Manager. The reasons are very apparent. It’s very disappointing that the majority of councillors will vote in favour of zoning and then they’ll come out and complain about traffic problems, and it will be because of these zoned areas. It’s not appropriate,” said Cllr Naughton.

A clearly exasperated Independent councillor Catherine Connolly – also a General Election candidate – agreed.

“Good Jesus, have we learned anything from what’s happened to this country? We have a city that can’t pay its rates, I don’t know how many empty retail premises, 90 at last count at Christmas, and we’re talking about rezoning land for commercial use. Very soon we’ll be indistinguishable from any town or city in Britain."

Read more in this week’s Connacht Sentinel