Sir, - The villagers of Delgany in Co Wicklow are fighting desperately to save their picturesque hamlet from being engulfed by a proposed housing development. If they lose, Ireland will have lost a much loved and unique village.
The decision by Wicklow County Council to grant permission for a development of 294 houses is incomprehensible. Quite apart from burying the village, 294 new households will more than double the local population, will cause serious road congestion, overcrowding in schools and pressure on all existing services. The development will not meet local housing needs - it is designed to attract buyers prepared to spend £100,000, most of those will come from Dublin.
In view of the cost in ecological, environmental, aesthetic and social (quite apart from financial) terms, it would be logical to assume that Wicklow County Council must have identified some greater good for the community that will outweigh the cost and justify the granting of planning permission for the project. Opponents of the development need to know how Wicklow County Council arrived at their decision. If the county council can demonstrate that Delgany is to be destroyed for a good reason we would have no option but to accept it, if they can't, then the people of County Wicklow will be justified in believing that local government in their county is in unsafe hands.
Yours, etc.,
Bellevue Lawn,
Delgany,
Co Wicklow.