Council chief to review ban on non-locals building homes

New proposals relating to the ban on non-locals building houses in the countryside are promised by Clare County Council's head of planning Mr Ger Dollard in response to pressure from councillors from west Clare.

Mr Dollard agreed to revisit the County Development Plan and to deliver new plans relating to restrictions on one-off houses within three months.

Currently, the council operates a general ban in large areas of Clare on non-locals building one-off houses in the countryside, while restrictions also apply in areas designated "visually vulnerable".

In return for Mr Dollard's undertaking, the councillors unanimously agreed to formally adopt the contentious draft West Clare Local Area Plan. Since its publication last August, community groups in west Clare have fought a campaign seeking to ensure that the draft plan is not passed into law.

One of the protagonists in the battle, Loop Head based parish priest Father Pat O'Neill, warned that the plan would have negative consequences for rural dwellers in west Clare, particularly in the Loop Head peninsula.

Father O'Neill, along with two other parish priests from the area, led a protest together with the Director of Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI), Mr Jim Connolly, outside the council chamber prior to the meeting, urging the councillors not to adopt the plan.

With placards such as "Council rules are anti-people" the protesters from west Clare crowded into the council chamber to hear successive councillors criticise the development plan.

Prior to the councillors' contributions, Mr Dollard said the public from west Clare is not being ignored. He said council policy relating to one-off housing was provided for in the development plan and the west Clare local plan had to be consistent with this.

Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) said the bias against people building in the countryside is premature, because with people being corralled into villages, there is not the infrastructure in the villages to support new homes there.

Councillor Joe Arkins (FG) said the 1999 County Development Plan has not worked and it was now time to revisit it, while Councillor Christy Curtin (Ind) said the numbers of people in the chamber showed the frustration relating to planning restrictions.