Councillors and officials in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow should be personally surcharged for land rezoning decisions that breach the Greater Dublin Area Strategic Planning Guidelines, according to An Taisce.
The guidelines, which became statutory on January 1st, are intended to curtail urban sprawl by consolidating growth inside the metropolitan area and in selected towns in its hinterland that can be served by public transport.
But An Taisce complained that the local authorities in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow were "collapsing this vision" in the interests of increasing their commercial rates base and accelerating population targets in the hinterland areas.
If these "deliberate breaches" of the strategic guidelines were allowed to continue, they would "further compound the unsustainable agglomeration of the Greater Dublin Area to the detriment of the balanced growth we hear so much about".
In a document detailing a series of recent decisions by councillors - supported by officials in some cases - that contravene both the letter and spirit of the guidelines, An Taisce said this was "arguably the biggest planning issue of our time".
"Language used in the decision-making process clearly indicates that many of those who knowingly propose changes which breach the SPGs do not understand - or care - that these guidelines are intended to have a legal, not an aspirational status."
An Taisce pointed out that the most recent review of the guidelines in April 2000 accepted there was broadly enough land zoned in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow to cater for population expansion up to 2006.
In Wicklow, however, plans being considered for Bray, Greystones/Delgany, Kilcoole, Newtownmountkennedy, Newcastle, Rathnew/Wicklow and Enniskerry would result in north Wicklow becoming "one large conurbation".
In Kildare, the overzoning of land for residential development would result in the county's population increasing by 57,700 by 2006 - more than double the figure envisaged by the guidelines. This was unsustainable, said An Taisce.
In Meath, the Department of the Environment had written to the county council asking it to explain how the rezoning decisions made by councillors against planning advice in Dunboyne, Kilbride, Ratoath and Dunshaughlin could be said to comply with the guidelines.
The Department said the council "should note that the continued growth of the south Meath towns/villages as part of the unrestrained growth of the Dublin region was specifically rejected in the strategic guidelines".
A response is required by January 15th.
Following publication of the guidelines in April 1999, local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area were asked by the Department to ensure their development plans were in compliance.
