A chara, - The Irish Times (February 3rd) reports that a majority of Kildare County Councillors are set to back a series of controversial rezonings in the north of that county. You report that Democratic Left and Labour are the minority opposed to these moves.
Your Environment Correspondent is accurate in stating that Councillor Catherine Murphy and Democratic Left have a stance opposing excessive rezoning and unsustainable development. The same, unfortunately from my point of view, cannot be said about Emmet Stagg and the Labour councillors.
Labour are opposing massive rezonings affecting Kilcock and Clane but are taking a curiously different approach in nearby Maynooth. Residents of that town face a doubling of its population - without accompanying infrastructure and facilities to support it - if widescale rezoning proceeds on the Celbridge Road side of the town. In justifying their support - for these rezonings, Labour points - to the promise of land for use as soccer pitches and the possibility of a new ring road being built with funding from development levies after all the housing is complete. This seems a terrible price to pay for the creation of an unplanned urban sprawl and the abolition of the green belt between Celbridge and Maynooth.
I would argue that the majority of north Kildare residents want a change of heart from their Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and PD councillors in regard to rezoning. We must not forget to demand the same of our Labour Party representatives. - Yours, etc.,
Castletown Lawns,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.