Waterford council backs expansion plan

Councillors in Waterford have backed a controversial proposal for the city to be allowed to expand into south Kilkenny.

The move would require a redrawing of the Waterford-Kilkenny border, and has already been rejected by Kilkenny County Council.

However, two high-ranking Fianna Fail members of that council - TDs Mr Liam Aylward and Mr John McGuinness - have disagreed on the issue.

An application for a boundary extension is to be made to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, by Waterford Corporation.

A proposal to that effect from Workers' Party councillor Mr Davy Walsh received cross-party support at a Waterford City Council meeting on Monday.

The city manager, Mr Eddie Breen, had advised that the motion was premature given the high level of co-operation that currently existed between the corporation and Kilkenny County Council.

He stressed, however, that the proposal would now be implemented.

Mr Walsh says the extension is needed to allow for the proper planning and development of Waterford city, which needs to expand further on the north side of the river Suir.

Waterford Corporation was already building houses in Kilkenny, "but houses are not the only answer. You have to be able to put in the proper infrastructure, such as hotels, shops, jobs and everything else.

"This would be to the benefit of everybody, the people of south Kilkenny and Waterford," he added.

Mr Aylward, a south Kilkenny-based TD, is vigorously opposed to the plan and has said it would be a "foolish Minister" who would try to implement it in the absence of agreement between the two authorities. He was accused of having a "not an inch" mentality by his party colleague, Kilkenny city-based TD Mr John McGuinness.

Mr McGuinness said there was no reason why the two authorities could not come to an accommodation which would preserve the integrity of the Kilkenny border while allowing for the necessary development of Waterford city.

"For example, why can't we zone the land for industrial and residential use and lease the land to Waterford?"

Mr Aylward said development should be managed in partnership between the two authorities, which were already co-operating on major schemes such as the planned Waterford bypass and the development of Belview Port.

However, he was emphatically opposed to a boundary extension and his motion to that effect had been unanimously supported by Kilkenny County Council.