Members of Donegal County Council have begun a special meeting to consider the Draft Letterkenny Plan and Local Transport Plan.
It follows a public consultation which took place from January 6th to February 13th this year.
The Chief Executive’s report on that process is what’s before the members today, with 70 recommendations based on 61 submissions.
61 submissions were received during that consultation process, 13 from statutory bodies, and the remaining 48 from members of the public.
Following consideration of the submissions, the Chief Executive’s report includes 70 recommendations in total, a substantial number of which are material in nature.
Director of Planning Services Liam Ward cautioned members that today is the deadline for the plenary council to either with the recommendations, and where they do not agree, they must state what they propose in their place.
Those changes, if any, will then be incorporated in a new draft, and once approved, the material changes will go back to public consultation.
Members are going through the recommendations at the moment, with an initial emphasis on land which has been zoned residential.
As the process began, Cllr Ciaran Brogan described this plan as the most challenging he’s ever been involved in discussing. He repeated his belief that the council should concentrate on zoning lands which are serviced and ready for construction to begin.
However, Cllr Gerry McMonagle said given the nature of the housing crisis, zoning should be prioritised in areas where owners are willing to begin construction projects immediately. He said with limitations on the amount of land that can be zoned residential, it would be wrong to zone land which was then held onto by owners in anticipation of an increase in land prices………..
However, while the RZLT is being welcomed in the context of tackling land hoarding, most of the discussion on the tax at today’s meeting has been centered on fears that farmers whose lands are zoned residential or strategic reserve may find themselves facing hefty tax bills.
Members expressed concern that in some cases, farmers may not even be ware that their lands have been zone.
A consultation on the tax ended on May 1st, members unanimously agreed to seek an extension of at least three months.
