Councillors in Meath have adopted a new county development plan but only after they voted to allow the population to increase by 3,000 more than advised by the council's senior planner.
He told them that the "highest figure we can push it [ population] to is 207,000 and I cannot advise you that this be upped by another 3,000. It makes it easier for the Department of the Environment to come back and chastise the council."
In its submission on the draft plan, the department advised the council to look at the option of dezoning some land. The meeting was told there was already enough residentially zoned land in Meath for a population of 300,000.
The plan, which covers development from now until 2013, was debated for seven hours before the vote. It does not include any additional residential zoning.
As originally proposed by county manager Tom Dowling and the planning team, including senior planner Bernard Green, the plan allowed for an additional 44,775 people by 2013.
However, that figure now stands at 47,775 bringing the total population allowed by the plan to 210,036.
The proposal to increase it by 3,000 came from Anne Dillon Gallagher (FG), a councillor in the Slane electoral area which includes east Meath and which has seen a massive increase in population in the last decade.
One of the most important parts of the plan is its settlement strategy which limits the number of new housing units. The limits in some areas have been revised upwards after it emerged that the original figures did not include appeals to An Bord Pleanála.