Councillors in Waterford have fully ratified the County Development Plan 2022-2028, with the plans now subject to approval from the Office of the Planning Regulator over a period of the next six weeks.
Plans were deliberated upon over the course of almost 40 meetings in the past two years, the last of which was held at the Dungarvan Civic Offices on Tuesday, June 7th.
Councillors agreed upon 14 amendments to initial proposals, much of which centered upon the zoning of land for residential developments.
Despite two adjournments, councillors ultimately ratified the plan, bringing the curtain down on almost two years of deliberations regarding the sustained development of Waterford City & County.
Fianna Fáil Councillor James Tobin was among those to welcome the end of the process, stating that ‘many swords had been crossed’ but they were crossed for the betterment of Waterford.
Fine Gael Councillor Damien Geoghegan also welcomed the conclusion - but noted that much of the consultation process had been prohibited by the influence of the Planning Regulator.
“I don’t think it should go unremarked upon that one person who cast a long shadow over this process was the Planning Regulator. I do accept and understand the need for regulation, but I believe it represents a further diminution of our power as elected representatives. The reality is that we could not move in the process without thinking what the planning regulator might do. I think it’s regrettable that an unelected official in this country can wield so much power.”
Sinn Féin’s Cllr. Conor McGuinness praised the level of engagement from the public throughout the various consultation processes.
“I want to thank everybody who participated. It was a real exemplar of public participation in decision-making and planning. It happened during a particularly difficult time in the height of Covid when it was difficult to engage with the public and I want to thank them and the planning officials.”
Many rural councillors welcomed the elements of the plan which incorporated continued rural development and one-off housing, while the environmental aspects of the plan were also lauded.
CEO of Waterford Council, Michael Walsh congratulated councillors for bringing the process to this juncture, while Mayor of Waterford City & County, Cllr. Joe Kelly praised the work of his predecessor, Cllr. Geoghegan who facilitated the first year of meetings.
