Wicklow County Council's decision to allow only local people buy homes in some new housing developments in the county has been denounced as "crazy" and "off the wall" by Fine Gael TD Mr Billy Timmins.
The sale of homes at Woodleigh Estate, a development launched in Blessington at the weekend, is restricted to people living or working in Wicklow or in the surrounding area for the past year or more.
This clause was inserted in the planning permission by Wicklow County Council to comply with the Strategic Planning Guidelines which councillors adopted in autumn 2001. The guidelines were introduced by the Government as part of a strategy for the development of the greater Dublin area.
Since then, developments outside urban centres such as Bray, Greystones and Arklow have been granted planning permission with this condition included. Several of these new developments will be coming on the market soon, according to Mr Timmins, who is a local TD and councillor.
He opposed the plan last year and said yesterday the restrictions were "off-the-wall" and would not survive in their current form. "It's an absolutely crazy policy and I have yet to meet one member of the public in Wicklow who disagrees with my view," he said.
Mr Timmins said the clause would increase the price of houses in urban centres where there were no restrictions, and would also drive development into neighbouring counties.
He pointed to the recent High Court attempt to overturn Meath County Council's development plan on the grounds that it was not adhering to the Strategic Planning Guidelines. Mr Justice Quirke rejected the challenge but said it seemed the Meath plan did not comply with the guidelines.
This proved the guidelines would have to be revisited, Mr Timmins said. He said he would be raising the issue when the Dáil resumed and would also be calling on Wicklow County Council to review its policy.
The Irish Rural Dwellers' Association has also condemned the restrictions and said a constitutional challenge was inevitable. "If you restrict developments to people who have lived in the area, you could equally say, no blacks, no Jews, no Arabs," said Mr Jim Connolly, secretary of the group which represents rural views on planning and other issues.
He said it was unjust to restrict people's right to live where they wished. "People will not be told where they can or cannot live," Mr Connolly said, adding that the policy probably flouted several laws. Ms Liz McManus, Labour councillor and TD, rejected suggestions that the clause was a form of apartheid against people from outside the county. She said it was "a genuine effort" to deal with the problems of over-development in sensitive areas while trying to cater for local need.
"In no way should it be seen as a form of apartheid," she said.
If the council did not comply with the guidelines, the Government could refuse to put infrastructure in place for developments which were contrary to the guidelines, Ms McManus said.
She said the people of Wicklow had consistently accommodated people from Dublin and other parts. "But you cannot continue to have unlimited development in particularly sensitive areas." Urban centres such as Bray, Arklow and Greystones did not exclude people from outside Wicklow, she said. People could still buy second-hand houses in villages such as Blessington.
No comment was available from Wicklow County Council last night.
