Sligo County Council has moved to avoid a Bord Pleanβla oral hearing into a controversial compulsory purchase order to take over back gardens belonging to residents in the village of Cliffony.
The council has now submitted an alternative "turnkey" proposal to the Department of the Environment and if this is approved, the CPO will be withdrawn. A high-profile campaign by residents against the CPO received the support of all political parties on the council, but up until this week council officials said the CPO, could not be withdrawn and the matter would have to be decided by An Bord Pleanβla.
The council said the turnkey proposal was submitted "very recently" by a private developer who owns land nearby.
If approved by the Department, and subject to planning, the developer would build the 30-house scheme and hand over the keys to the local authority upon completion. "Based on the costings presented with this proposal, Sligo County Council is confident that the Department will approve this scheme," the council said in a statement.
A spokesman for the residents, Mr Armin Samali, said they were happy with this latest development, but were not yet celebrating. "Considering all that has happened, we will wait until we see an official document saying the CPO is being withdrawn," he said.
Mr Samali said he believed it had become "clear to everybody that this CPO was wrong". The council said its primary objective was to provide social and affordable housing. A response is expected from the Department on the turnkey proposal before the Christmas holiday.