Measures to protect rural areas from "unco-ordinated sprawl" must be taken by Meath county councillors in their forthcoming review of the county development plan, a planning official has warned.
Mr Niall Cussens warned members that very rapid growth since 1994 would pose challenges for the council when it reviews the development plan. Preliminary discussions have begun but it is expected that the public representatives elected next June will take the final decision.
He advised members that strategy for the year 2011 must be geared to a population of 150,000. Meath's population now is about 110,000. Rural development could not proceed without close attention to management of the green belt, protection of the coastal zone, architectural heritage areas like the Boyne Valley and the Royal Canal amenity.
The chairman of the Developmental Strategic Policy Committee councillor, Mr John Fanning, warned that increased demand for housing in the greater Dublin area, spilling over into Meath, would influence their review.
A planning report showed the 1,318 houses were built in Meath in 1997. Meath County Council's land requirement of 10,000 acres up to 2006 would exhaust its current land-bank.