[Articles] Dunleer rezoning

Victor

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FF developer hits a €9m jackpot as land rezoned
From:The Irish Independent
Wednesday, 17th September, 2003
Treacy Hogan and Elaine Keogh

A PROMINENT Fianna Fail figure has become an overnight multi-millionaire after a county council rezoned his land.

Donal Kinsella's 47 acres off the M1 motorway near the Co Louth village of Dunleer are now estimated to be worth more than €9m after the rezoning decision.

Before the rezoning the lands were worth just €10,000 an acre.

Now they are zoned industrial and commercial, they are worth up to €200,000 an acre.

Mr Kinsella, a well-known businessman and property developer, is chairman of the South Louth Comhairle Ceanntair of Fianna Fail.

The rezoning was one of two major amendments made by the county councillors before they finally passed an area development plan for Dunleer.

Fianna Fail are the majority party on the council.

They control the chair of Louth County Council. Only one of the 13 Fianna Fail councillors at the meeting voted against the motion, proposed by council chairman Nicky McCabe. The vote was 18 to 1 in favour.

Donal Kinsella has previously applied for, and been refused, permission to build a retail village centre on the land at Woodland, Dunleer.

But when this plan was put on public display he made a formal submission to the council asking that they zone the lands for commercial and industrial use.

Senior council planner Gerry Duffy was asked if the rezoning would leave the way open for a factory outlet to be built.

He said the county retail strategy supports one being built in the county but does not say where it should be built.

The development of Dunleer has been a source of controversy for close on two years.

This new plan clears the way for development of Dunleer village - in the wake of one of the most controversial and acrimonious debates in years.

The population of the village now stands at 1,000 but is set to increase to as many as 4,500.

The council yesterday admitted it could become part of the already congested Dublin commuter belt as the population soars.

Existing planning permissions, if taken up, would see the village grow to 3,400. Its sewerage system only has maximum capacity for 4,500. But under the development plan now accepted, the population of 4,500 will put intense strain on facilities.

Mr Duffy, who objected to an earlier plan by councillors to allow development catering for a population of 7,000, told the Irish Independent there was a risk that Dunleer could become another part of the greater Dublin commuter belt.

However, he was confident that "within reason we should be able to accommodate the development".

There was a heated and protracted debate before the plan was passed as there were just 48 hours to go before the statutory deadline.

After that the original plan, commissioned by the council planners, would automatically have become the development blueprint for the next five years.

An Taisce condemned the plan. Spokesman Ian Lumley said: "This will turn Dunleer into a large car-based satellite suburb of Dublin."

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Greens seek reversal of Dunleer rezoning
From:ireland.com
Wednesday, 17th September, 2003

The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to rescind a planning decision that would see the population of a Co Louth village increase by 400 per cent.

Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent was responding to news this morning that a senior Fianna Fáil figure in Co Louth succeeded in having lands rezoned by the county council that are now estimated to be worth more than €9 million.

Mr Donal Kinsella, a businessman and property developer, owns 47 acres of land just off the M1 motorway near Dunleer village. The rezoning decision increases the value of the land from about €10,000 per acre to about €200,000 per acre.

Mr Kinsella is chairman of the South Louth Comhairle Ceanntair of Fianna Fáil.

"The Dunleer rezoning decision to inflate the village's population from 1,000 to 4,000 is a travesty for sustainability and community development," Mr Sargent said.

"Again planners and the public can see that if there is a conflict between the common good and the interests of Fianna Fáil, then the common good suffers.

"I put it to the majority on Louth County Council who voted to increase the population of the village by 400 per cent what future life can the commuters who will incur huge debts to buy new houses on this newly rezoned land expect?

"Are they the least bit bothered that petrol is due to run out by 2050 AD according to Lord Brown of BP?", he added.

A spokesman for Mr Cullen said the Minister does not usually get involved in individual cases.

He added that Mr Cullen is entitled to "give direction" to local authorities, but that no Minister has ever exercised that power.

Victor

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Minister urged to intervene in Dunleer zoning
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 18th September, 2003

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has been urged to use his powers to rescind the controversial local area plan for Dunleer, Co Louth, on the grounds of excessive land rezoning.

Mr Trevor Sargent TD, leader of the Green Party, said the plan adopted by Louth County Council on Monday would "inflate the village's population from 1,000 to 4,000" and this would be "a travesty" for sustainable development.

"I put it to the majority on Louth County Council who voted to increase the population of the village by 400 per cent: What future life can the commuters who will incur huge debts to buy new houses on this newly rezoned land expect?"

If the National Spatial Strategy was to have any meaning, the Minister would have to use his powers to intervene.

Otherwise, he said, the public would see that the common good suffered whenever it was in conflict with the interests of Fianna Fáil.

This was a reference to the council's decision to rezone a tract of land on the outskirts of Dunleer owned by Mr Donal Kinsella, chairman of the Fianna Fáil Cumann in south Louth, for a "factory retail outlet village", contrary to planning advice.

Although there is no provision for such a facility in the county council's retail strategy for Louth, it has been estimated that the rezoning vote could have the effect of boosting the value of Mr Kinsella's holding from €470,000 to €9 million. Mr Kinsella could not be reached for comment yesterday evening.

More contentious was the rezoning of some 20 acres of land, owned by Katsar-Sentosa Properties Ltd, for residential development. This decision was adopted by eight votes to seven, with all but one of the Fianna Fáil councillors voting in favour.

The sole Fianna Fáil dissenter, Cllr Thomas Clare, the only member of the council living in Dunleer, walked out "in disgust" after a number of his party colleagues declined to say why they had changed their minds on the rezoning vote. Less than two months ago, the county council decided by 16 votes to five to revert to the original local area plan for Dunleer, drawn up by Dublin architects and urban designers, Murray O Laoire, in consultation with the local community. The draft was publicly exhibited, generating a total of 67 submissions. More than 80 per cent favoured adoption of the Murray O Laoire plan, with some suggesting minor modifications that did not relate to zoning.

But four of the five mid-Louth councillors, led by Mr Tommy Reilly (FF), a former council chairman, had commissioned their own plan for Dunleer, under which large areas were to be rezoned, including Katsar-Sentosa's land. The council had also been warned by solicitors acting for the company, which is controlled by Mr Aidan Kinsella, that they would take legal proceedings to protect its interests in the event that the Murray O Laoire plan was adopted.

Dr. Dre

When I read that the other day, I was sick to the pit of my stomach. This is the sort of thing we're talking about when we go on about our dodgy politicians.
Ba$tards.

Victor

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Businessman defends proposed plan for Dunleer
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 23rd September, 2003

The businessman who stands to make several million from the rezoning of his 47-acre farm in Dunleer, Co Louth, for a "tourist retail outlet village" has strongly defended the proposed development.

Mr Donal Kinsella, a leading member of Fianna Fáil in the county, said he could have developed the land for housing "but I wouldn't cover it with brown roofs. I'm a son of the village and want to do something positive".

Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, he said his site on the outskirts of Dunleer had been identified by BAA-McArthur Glenn, one of the biggest developers of retail outlet centres in Europe, as the most suitable for such a scheme.

"It's a perfect place for development because Dunleer is so close to the M1 motorway.

"In fact, it's probably the best site in the country for this particular enterprise because there would be three million people within a 90-minute drive."

Mr Kinsella said Dublin was "only 40 minutes away" and the catchment area would also include Belfast and its environs. As a result, it would have a much better chance of success than the retail outlet facility in Rathdowney, Co Laois.

However, though Louth's planners favoured Dundalk, a planning application for a site in its vicinity failed, leading the developers to sue the county council for €30 million.

"They won in the High Court, but failed on appeal," he said.

According to Mr Kinsella, there is no conflict between his plan and the retail strategy for Co Louth, adopted by the council last year.

It made provision for a retail outlet village somewhere in the county, without specifying a location. "What we're proposing doesn't contravene the retail strategy or the county development plan," he said. "It would create jobs in a service industry, so that people wouldn't have to travel to Dublin for work, and give more vitality to Dunleer."

Mr Kinsella said the rezoning of his farm was not contentious. It had been carried by 18 votes to one, with the support of all parties - not just Fianna Fáil, but also Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and independent councillors.

"So it's unfair to say, as The Irish Times did, that it happened becaiuse I have 'friends in high places'. You should have checked your facts," Last week, however, several attempts to contact Mr Kinsella were unsuccessful.

He said the "contrariness" in Dunleer over the local area plan adopted by the county council last Monday had nothing to to do with him. It was about plans for new housing on Tran road, which involved another developer, Mr Aidan Kinsella (no relation). "As dogs bark, developers build houses," he declared. As for reports that his own land could now be up to €9 million, he said these were "wild estimates".

The project also involved "a lot more risk, but for greater benefits in the end".

Victor

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Amended Dunleer plan to remain in place
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 14th October, 2003

A special meeting of Louth County Council last night confirmed there will be no further changes to the controversial Dunleer local area development plan.

Previous amendments allow for more than a tripling of the village's population. It also provides for the rezoning of 47 acres of woodland owned by businessman Mr Donal Kinsella for commercial and industrial use. He is seeking planning permission from the council to build what would be the State's first motorway service station.

Mr Kinsella is the chairman of the South Louth Cumann of Fianna Fáil. The recent rezoning of his lands is estimated to have increased their value by up to €9 million. The lands were three times the subject of unsuccessful planning applications for a retail outlet centre.

Legal advice sought by the council confirmed the amended plan for Dunleer was consistent with the county development plan. Last night's meeting marked the end of the political process on the plan. However, a revised written statement with maps will be compiled by the local authority to accurately reflect the intention of the resolution passed by councillors at a meeting on September 15th.

Last night's meeting was called by Cllr Michael O'Dowd (FG) who said the Dunleer plan was a "mess". He said there should be a further period of public consultation because he believed what was adopted at the September meeting was a variation of the county development plan.

Cllr O'Dowd said if its population exceeded 4,000 the plan should move from a category one designation to the larger villages and towns designation.

He questioned the population figures used. The plan allows for 35 houses per hectare with 2.8 residents per house. He said this figure would exceed 4,000 and the plan would not be sustainable. He added the census figures showed three people per household.

However, the senior planning officer, Mr Gerry Duffy, said a variety of factors were taken into consideration. The birth rate was going down and some figures suggested a residency as low as 2.6. He said there was a set of assumptions used which were applied to the entire county plan. He said he still supported the original plan as the best and most appropriate one but accepted the entitlement of the council to vary the plan as it had done.

Former PD Councillor Mary Grehan (Ind) expressed her anger that a decision was made at the September meeting at which so few people attended. She added: "People whose own party members would benefit from the plan should be the last to push it through".