WCC Greenlight Delgany Development

I can see your 500 houses from here…

atest press release from the Delgany JR committee, issued on Saturday, December 11th 2021…

As many of you will know Wicklow County Council has just approved planning permission for the two proposed developments totalling 155 houses on the Carmelite site (access off Convent Road and Bellevue Hill).

Bellevue Hill FRI10DEC21

The permission allows for construction between 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday inclusive.

Those who made a submission should have received notice of one of the decisions from Wicklow County Council this week. All relevant information is available here (references 21959 and 21960).

I think we all accept that some development will take place on the site but we also know that this site represents the last chance for Delgany to get decent community facilities such as an accessible community centre and a proper fit-for-purpose playground. We are all extremely concerned re: the unsafe road network and lack of facilities, such as schools.

Is it too much to ask that a village which has taken huge development in recent years should have a playground for its local children?

For any other potential developers or applicants who are reading this-please talk to the community, engage with them, let them know what you can offer, and identify what is needed in the community. What is most frustrating about all of this is that an engagement with the community beforehand could have made the world of difference.

The Judicial Review group would like to say a huge thanks to all of you who have supported us at any stage on this journey so far. What has been most satisfying to see is the extent to which the Delgany community rallied when needed. We know that you want the best possible future for Delgany.

Pic: VR Tours Ireland

It cost you money, it took your time but you will always know that you did what you could when needed.

The current situation is as follows:

The developer has two valid planning permissions on the site.

PLAN A:
The SHD (for 232 houses) remains in place until and unless we succeed in our Judicial Review action. That case is delayed pending the outcome of another relevant case which will be heard in the Court of Appeal. It means we probably won’t get our day in court until 2023.

The Drumakilla SHD artist impression

No construction is allowed until the case has been decided.

PLAN B:
As a ‘back up’, the applicant now has two new planning permissions. So he can choose to go ahead with these two proposals or wait and see if they are successful with the JR (if we would lose the case). The land is obviously worth more money if it has the SHD permission as it allows for more units to be built and more profit to be made.

Anyone who made a submission can appeal the WCC decision to An Bord Pleanála. The cost of an appeal is €220 and it has to be lodged by January 12th. While this is expensive for an individual, we know that people would chip in to support anyone who feels very strongly about this. Some members of the Judicial Review committee are considering lodging an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.

As far as we know, the sale has not yet been concluded and the Carmelite order still owns the land. The likelihood is that the developer will see what value the site has (depends on the amount of planning granted) and will then sell the site on to be developed by another company.

It would be nice to think that locals might be consulted or at least considered somewhere as part of that big profit-making chain.