Madam, – I share the concern of Alice Lyons (4th July) in respect of the number of empty housing estates that have spread like a rash in post-boom Ireland.
Our pleasant vices have become instruments to plague us. I can recall the great hopes raised for our new environmental programme in our schools in 1971. Sadly it has yet to permeate our greedy society. That is why heritage societies, like an Taisce, should have a more central role in matters of planning and development.
I thoroughly agree with the letter’s point that community bodies be given more of a voice in planning decisions in their area especially the number of houses in a site. There has been a noticeable disjunction between the people and the local authority where often no one knows exactly what is going on. Clearly there must be better communication and that is my first creative suggestion.
A few principles should govern all planning and development. The number of new houses should be determined by need and not by personal or corporate gain. The practice of building eye-bewildering rows of houses to the maximum number must be strictly regulated.
Quite obviously we now to our cost realise that during the building frenzy individuals were allowed to build without without having a complete understanding of the potential environmental impact or indeed did they care about the local needs as long as the banks were willing to lend.
Local communities are the best placed to judge the impact of development and also how best to use those “dead spaces” now that we have them in our hands.
Finally we must continue through environmental education to generate a greater awareness of the impact of this unsustainable rate of house building. – Yours, etc,