A row has erupted between Wicklow politicians and property developers over plans to fast-track a €1.25 billion residential and commercial property development south of Greystones.
A consortium of developers which includes the Industrial Development Agency and Zapi Properties had offered to lend the National Roads Authority and Wicklow County Council the money to build a new interchange on the N11 at Kilpedder, and a new Delgany by-pass giving new access to lands at Charlesland, south of Greystones town.
Under the proposals the roads authority would repay the money when it became available, while the cost of the access road would be recouped through deductions on development levies, normally payable to the council.
The existence of the proposals, first reported in The Irish Times, were confirmed by the county manager, Mr Eddie Sheehy, who indicated the council was taking the offer seriously.
He told councillors that such a deal carried no guarantee that any property developer funding the new roads or the interchange would be granted planning permission by the council. As such, the independence of the planning authority would be protected.
Zapi Properties's shareholders include Mr Sean Mulryan and his company, Ballymore. Other companies in the consortium include Mountbrook Homes, the Cosgrave Property Group, and the IDA.
More than 2,500 houses, at least 2.5 million square feet of commercial buildings including offices, industrial and retail services, a bar, creche, restaurants and a medical centre would be built on 300 acres.
But the deal has run into trouble with Greystones Town Council members, after it became known that Zapi had appealed its recent grant of planning permission to An Bord Pleanála, claiming the development levies were too high.
Zapi also wants to develop office buildings before the new road infrastructure is completed. Its planning permission would allow it to build the offices, but not to occupy them until the roads were fully in place.
The appeal has angered the Mayor of Greystones, Mr Derek Mitchell (Fine Gael), who said the "whole core of the deal was that the property development would be premature without the road system".
The council's permission to Zapi was for 1.2 million square feet of industrial buildings for 1,100 jobs in Charlesland, and would make little sense before the roads were built, he said.
"Zapi seem to be going back on its offer to build these roads, judging by their appeal of the planning conditions. The only roads to this area are country lanes and construction will create total traffic chaos in the Delgany area. Allowing large numbers of heavy goods vehicles on to these country lanes would be total madness," he said.
"Zapi also wants a big reduction in road levies. I find this surprising when we have been told that they want to fund the roads and it calls into question whether their offer to fund the roads is genuine."
A spokesman for Zapi could not be contacted.
