Building restrictions on people from outside Wicklow defended

Wicklow County Council has defended its policy of refusing to allow outsiders to build houses in rural areas.

The acting county secretary, Mr Michael Nicholson, said the policy was designed to protect locals from being priced out of property in their own areas and to prevent unnecessary development of rural land.

Asked if the policy was legally sound, he said: "We're satisfied it is, but like everything else, until it's challenged we can't know for sure."

Councils in Clare and Kerry have adopted similar clauses in their county plans.

Mr Nicholson was speaking after yesterday's Marian Finucane show on RTE Radio 1, which featured a complaint from a Dublin man who had been told by planners he was unlikely to get permission to build on a £120,000 site near Manor Kilbride.

Mr Nicholson told The Irish Times the council was not refusing anyone the right to live in Wicklow, merely to build in rural parts of it without what the development plan calls "bona fide" reasons.

"People can buy an existing house anywhere in the county, or they can build on designated building land, which is usually in or near the conurbations," he said. "A particular problem for Wicklow is that it's very attractive to Dubliners who can sell their homes for big money and move down. A lot of local people can't afford to buy a house, so their only chance is to get a site and build. We need to protect them - locals can't afford to pay £120,000."

The definition of what constituted a "local" person was a vexed one, he admitted, but the planning section was reasonable in its interpretation.

"I live in Arklow, for example, so I can't say I'm local to Blessington."

Mr Nicholson said many outsiders did not adapt to living in rural areas. "They ring the council to complain every time they hear a cow moo or get the smell of silage. They also tend to be the first people to object to others building. It's a case of close the door after you."