Residents of a town on the Laois-Carlow border plan to run candidates in future elections if massive development of the area is allowed to go ahead unchecked.
The people of Graiguecullen, which is adjacent to Carlow and straddles the two counties' border, say the town is set to double in size, without the necessary supporting infrastructure.
Planning permission has been granted for three housing developments and a fourth, involving nearly 700 houses or apartments, is before Laois County Council. Members of a local community council say there has been little consultation and that the area suffers from a lack of adequate political representation because of its location.
Residents in the Laois part of Graiguecullen, which has a population of nearly 4,000, vote in the Carlow local elections, but find themselves in Laois-Offaly at general election time.
An example of the confusion this causes arose recently when they requested traffic-calming measures on the Numbers Road, which crosses from Carlow into Laois. Carlow Urban District Council approved the request for one end of the road, but Laois County Council is still considering it in relation to the other end.
The Greater Graiguecullen Community Council says this road will be required to take all traffic from the planned housing developments.
Mr Michael Mayling, chairman of the council, says the Numbers Road - so-called locally because it was the first in the formerly rural area to have houses with numbers - will be unable to cope with the huge increase in traffic.
The road issue, the council claims, is symptomatic of the lack of overall planning which has accompanied the planned developments. It says it is not against new housing, but wants the Carlow northern relief road extended first.
Instead, the Laois council's approach appears to be that if the houses are built the National Roads Authority will have to approve the road. In a letter to Fianna Fail TD Mr Sean Fleming last month, Mr Jack Creegan, acting senior executive engineer with Laois County Council, said Carlow had applied to the NRA for funding for this road.
"Laois County Council have already carried out most of the topographical survey for this route which should allow design to progress quickly when approval is obtained," the letter said.
"The new housing developments in this region will no doubt impose pressure on the existing network of roads, thus making the rapid approval by the NRA for this project a matter of urgency."
Members of the Graiguecullen council say there is an urgent need for the three local authorities with responsibility for the area - Carlow County Council, Carlow UDC and Laois County Council - to come together with the local community and draw up an action plan.
Mr Joe McDonald, a Fianna Fail member of Carlow County Council, says there is good co-operation between the three authorities, but that it needs to be improved. He supports the residents' call.
Residents are also concerned at the number of apartments proposed. Mr Des Hurley, a Labour member of Carlow UDC, says there is a danger of Graiguecullen becoming a dormitory town for Dublin-based workers. Council members also say apartments have in the past brought an increase in anti-social behaviour.
Consultants representing the developer behind the biggest of the four projects, Clayborne Properties, held meetings with residents recently. But the community council says its request that the consultants meet a group of representatives was denied.
As well as 466 houses and 200 apartments, the development, if approved by Laois County Council, would include a public house, creche and Montessori school, a leisure centre, several shops and offices. The council has received a number of objections to the application on grounds that include its scale and density.
The community council says that unless its concerns are met, it will run candidates in the next general and local elections. It wants other residents' groups contemplating similar action to contact Mr Mayling or its public relations officer, Mr Matt Diskin. Their respective e-mail addresses are info@mayling.org and diskin@carlowit.ie
