Wicklow County Council yesterday voted by 23 to one to contravene the county development plan to grant planning permission for an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse on Bray Head.
This was despite a last-minute appeal by the Green Party councillor, Ms Deirdre de Burca, to defer any decision until the result of a SRUNA (Sustainable Recreational Use of Natural Assets) study became available. The plan for Bray Head includes a golf club and clubhouse at Ballynamuddagh. It was first submitted by Frenchpark Financial Services Ltd last August. Four objections were received, two from private individuals, one from SOHO (Save Our Head Organisation) and the Bray Head Residents' Association.
Since the application was lodged, a new county development plan, including the Rathdown District Plan, was adopted. The site is on the western flank of Bray Head in an area designated in the plan as a landscape zone of "outstanding natural beauty". It is zoned "green belt" in the Rathdown District Plan.
The council's planners felt the permission was, at least, premature and should be refused, but the county engineer, Mr Michael Looby, believed permission could be granted subject to conditions.
Eighteen conditions were imposed. They include the retention of existing trees and hedgerows, a ban on floodlighting, a security lodgement of £300,000 pending completion of the development, and an unrefundable contribution towards facilities. The Fianna Fail TD, Mr Dick Roche, said the best way to preserve Bray Head would be to take it into public ownership and buy it. Its use as a golf course would be the next best thing.
The Labour TD, Ms Liz McManus, said that while the pressures on Bray Head had not been responded to, she would vote for the proposal as she was not willing to transfer the decision to Bord Pleanala. "I have no faith in Bord Pleanala, she said. "They have no accountability to a Minister or to the Houses of the Oireachtas."
Fianna Fail's Cllr Michael Lawlor, who proposed the contravention, said that the golf club would guarantee the head would be protected "for at least 150 years and probably forever". It would create a green belt which would prevent Bray and Greystones from developing into one suburban sprawl.
The development involves a swap between the developer and Bray Golf Club. The club will vacate its course at Ravenswell, which will be developed for schools, housing and recreational facilities for the town.