Planner saw no basis for council's rezoning decision

A former senior Dublin County Council planner has told the tribunal that he could see no reason to justify a decision to zone lands owned by a development company at Cherrywood in south Dublin for a higher density of housing than property belonging to others in the area.

The tribunal heard that the county manager had proposed that all lands in the area should be zoned at four houses to the acre.

However, in late 1993, a majority of councillors instead voted to allow this housing density only on land owned by Monarch Properties. Other land in the vicinity was restricted to one house per acre.

Giving evidence yesterday, William Murray said he could not come up with any reason to make a distinction.

Asked by senior counsel for the tribunal Patricia Dillon as to whether, given his knowledge of the area, there were any reasons to justify the different densities, Mr Murray replied, "No".

Mr Murray agreed with Ms Dillon that the last chance for Monarch to salvage something from its development plans for Cherrywood came when the issue went to the council in November 1993.

He accepted that if this did not happen at that stage, the company would have been left with its land zoned at one house per acre.

Subsequent changes would have involved seeking a variation or a material contravention of the development plan, which required a 75 per cent majority of the council. However, a vote on the development plan could be passed by a simple majority of one vote.

The tribunal also heard yesterday that Monarch Properties wanted to move Dún Laoghaire Golf Club to land that it part owned at Cherrywood.

Notes of a meeting between the development company and officials in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown Council in May 1996 show that the former head of Monarch, the late Phil Monahan, had stated that 60 to 70 per cent of the golf club's committee were in favour of the move.

The notes reveal that the former county manager in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown, Kevin O'Sullivan, had said he did not think the move would be achieved as easily as Mr Monahan thought and that a number of public representatives were still sitting on the fence.

On Thursday, former Fine Gael minister Sean Barrett told the tribunal that he had been offered and rejected an £80,000 consultancy contract to assist in arranging a similar land swap between a golf club and other land at Cherrywood.