The World Wide Web has become the latest battleground in the dispute over a proposed extension to Kenmare, Co Kerry. If approved by Kerry County Council next month, the extension will increase the town to 21/2 times its size, extending it to almost two miles beyond its present boundary.
Debate in Kenmare has become increasingly polarised, and the campaigns have become better organised in advance of a plebiscite on Friday.
The Kenmare Chamber of Commerce and Tourism is organising the plebiscite because it claims councillors raced ahead with the proposed extension, now on public display. More than 1,700 polling cards have gone out.
Mr John Brennan, president of the Kenmare chamber, said there was scarcely any public consultation and the proposal took most Kenmare people by surprise. The chamber supports a rezoning of 18 acres of land from secondary special amenity to industrial commercial along the dump road area, but says the larger extension may ruin the character of Kenmare.
"Kenmare is one of the world's most desired vacation destinations. It deserves proper planning," he said.
A website organised in recent days by a group calling itself the Community Development Commission is urging a strong No vote. The site claims "the real motive" for extending the town boundary is to build large numbers of holiday homes.
An Taisce is opposed to the extension, saying large tracts of land within the present boundary should be developed first. It said over 100 planning permissions were granted this year alone in Kenmare.
Local councillors Mr Michael Healy-Rae, his father Mr Jackie Healy-Rae and Mr Michael Connor-Scarteen (FG) favour the extension.
"We won't make Kenmare into a concrete jungle as portrayed by some people," Mr Connor-Scarteen said yesterday. "Nobody wants that, and proper planning procedures will apply. There will be proper green areas and a mix of development."
Every town in Ireland had been extended over the past five years, he said. Kenmare's garage closed because it was refused planning on a new site outside the town, he said, and industry was in danger of being lost.
A group calling itself the Kenmare Boundary Commission, which is in favour of the extension, has threatened to sue the council and the chamber if the plebiscite goes ahead. However, councillors voting on the extension in September can choose to ignore the plebiscite.