The chairman of An Taisce and a member of Kildare County Council have asked the High Court to quash the Meath County Development Plan. It is alleged the plan, which was adopted in March 2001, does not comply with Strategic Planning Guidelines (SPG) for the Greater Dublin Area, published in March 1999.
Meath County Council is opposing the application and contends that its elected members, when adopting the plan, had due regard to the SRG and that the applicants miscontrue the SRG as restricting any development within the Hinterland Area (Cos Meath, Kildare and Wicklow) other than to meet local need or growth. It pleads the plan is lawful, brought into being by the democratic will of the elected members.
In adopting the development plan, the council claims, it had full regard to the SPG but took into account additional and updated figures set out in the SPG review and update of April 2000 and also material provided by the Central Statistics Office, the electoral register and the Economic and Social Research Institute.
The judicial review challenge to the development plan has been taken by Mr Tony McEvoy, Loughbollard, Clane, Co Kildare, a retired secondary school teacher, and member of Kildare County Council and the Mid-East Regional Authority; and by Mr Michael Smith, Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin, who is chairman of An Taisce.
In addition to seeking an order quashing the plan, the applicants have also asked Mr Justice Quirke to grant declarations that in making and adopting the plan, the council did not have due regard, as required by law, to the SPG; and that the making and adoption of the plan is void and without effect. The hearing is expected to last several days.