Madam, - I refer to Frank McDonald's report in your edition of May 7th entitled "Manager adds 'health warning' to county plan". I am writing on behalf of Combined Residents to Save Open Space (CRSOS), an umbrella group of 25 residents, associations formed to oppose the rezoning and development of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club. The county manager's public dissatisfaction with the draft development plan is just the latest of several signs that the county council executive is considering no alternative to rezoning Dun Laoghaire Golf Club for development, regardless of the wishes of the people.
In our view this development is unnecessary and unacceptable: it is the last remaining "green lung" in the area and would put intolerable additional stress on the local infrastructure. More than of 4,000 concerned residents signed our petition.
Council officials emphasise the housing needs of the area. This need is for social and affordable housing but the golf club development would be neither social nor affordable. The cost of the land and the developer's preference for up-market developments will see to that.
As reported by Frank McDonald, Cllr Eamonn Gilmore TD proposed a motion to the council which would have increased the proportion of land available for building affordable housing and which would have had the additional benefit of making the rezoning of the golf course unnecessary. However, quoting legal advice, the county manager advised the councillors to reject this motion, which eventually they did, under protest.
Fortunately, when it came to the specific motion in relation to rezoning the golf club, the councillors stood firm and voted in favour of the status quo.
So does the Council vote ensure the future of the golf club? Clearly the trustees of the club think otherwise. Despite the Council's vote they have recently made a planning application for a proposed golf club in Ballyman, near Bray. The trustees seem to think the council vote will be overturned. We in CRSOS do not understand the basis of this confidence.
We would like Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to show that it is not fixated on the idea of developing the golf club. It could do this by exploring constructively alternative approaches such as the Eamonn Gilmore proposal; by adopting more realistic population growth assumptions; and by considering alternative lands such as Cherrywood. In doing so the council would be respecting the democratic process. - Yours, etc.,
GENE FEIGHERY,
Chairperson, CRSOS,
Eglinton Park,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.