An action group in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, is mystified about how large portions of the Hope Castle Demesne, which was to be developed as a regional park for the area, have now been leased to a London property company.
Harringbrook Properties Ltd has already secured planning permission for two developments, a scheme of 51 houses on a disused caravan park near the town and another 88 "chalets" in a wooded area owned by Coillte, the State forestry company.
Some 80 acres of the demesne, centred on Lough Muckno, was acquired by Monaghan County Council in 1981 and formally opened by the then Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald, who said he was delighted to be handing it back to the people of Castleblayney.
The scenic lakeland area, once described by Sir Shane Leslie as "the Killarney of the north", had been identified by Dublin landscape architects Niall Hyde and Associates, in a major report for the county council, as a potential regional park.
Plans were drawn up to develop it as a major tourism amenity and £300,000 in EU aid was secured for the project. A civic trust was also established to take charge of it, with the Monaghan county manager, Mr Joe Gavin, as one of its directors.
Initially, the caravan park was a success, but it became rundown due to poor maintenance. "The area is completely overgrown. Doors are hanging off hinges and you wouldn't let a dog into it," said Mr Joe Brennan, of the Lough Muckno Action Committee.
The action committee was formed in May to find out what was being planned for the demesne, after it discovered that Monaghan Civic Trust had agreed to lease it to Harringbrook Properties. "This was done without any consultation whatever," Mr Brennan said.
Harringbrook received planning permission to develop 88 "chalets" in Concra Wood, the Coillte-owned land adjoining the lake, despite an objection from the Castleblayney Development Association, which was concerned about its environmental impact.
In March 1996 Harringbrook declined to deal with these concerns, saying they were "planning issues". It also informed the association that "as a private estate, public access will be maintained as it has been in the past, that is, by invitation only".
The company, in a letter to the association signed by Mr E. Flannery, also said it would "not be prepared to answer any questions" relating to its plans for the Lough Muckno estate or about the private and commercial interests of its directors.
The action committee maintains that the development of 88 "chalets" in Concra Wood, where there are also plans for an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Gary Player, would "irreversibly change the whole scenic beauty of the lake and its environs".
Since the area is zoned high-amenity, the committee says the scheme should have been treated as a material contravention of the Monaghan county development plan. It also claims senior council officials, including the chief planning officer, opposed it.
The Castleblayney Development Association did not pursue its objections by lodging an appeal with An Bord Pleanala. And when Harringbrook sought permission for 51 houses on the caravan site, the local assumption was that these would be rented as holiday homes.
"It subsequently transpired that the houses were being sold to private buyers at prices of up to £70,000 through Gunne's estate agents in Dundalk," he said, adding that the large "chalets" proposed for Concra Wood were being marketed to rich golfers at much higher prices.
Mr Brennan said the county council, which granted permission for the houses on the caravan park in May, had imposed a levy of £4,000 per site, which would bring in a total of £204,000. "In return, it seems that the company has got a blank cheque to do what it likes."
However, the county manager said Harringbrook's lease was subject to performance targets, and that the arrangement reached with the company was designed to "extricate" the council from a situation which had led to debts which cost £200,000 a year to service.
His understanding was that the proposed housing would be sold as holiday homes, bringing much-needed new business into the area. The chalets in Concra Wood would not be visible from Lough Muckno and would be similar to the scheme in Killykeen Forest Park, in Co Cavan.
Mr Gavin said it would be "tragic" if the developers were "frightened off" by the objections now being made. "We're not a commercial organisation and were not able to manage the park successfully. With them on board, we would still have an amenity and no further losses".
Monaghan County Council is holding a public meeting at Hope Castle tomorrow evening to discuss the future of the Lough Muckno estate.