Serious concerns over land transfer
CLLRS UNSURE ABOUT GIVING UP PLOTS
SERIOUS concern remains among councillors about the proposed transfer of land to a new State agency in order to help Fingal County Council avoid massive interest repayments.
The local authority is facing annual interest repayments of € 520,000 a year unless it hands over the lands at Balbriggan, Garristown and Skerries to the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency.
Loans outstanding on the lands amount to € 34.7m which the council will have to service itself unless they transfer the lands to these new agency, dubbed a ' miniNAMA' by public representatives.
After a briefing by the local authority last week, councillors expressed particular concern about the transfer of the lands at Garristown and Skerries.
In Garristown, the lands have been leased to the local GAA Club, which has invested in the region of € 80,000 developing playing pitches to accommodate the increasing number of teams there.
And in Skerries, councillors are concerned about disposing the site at Hacketstown as it had been earmarked for both sheltered housing for the elderly and affordable housing.
Councillors have less concerns about the Balbriggan lands given the massive oversupply of land zoned for housing in the area.
A commitment that a strip of land at the coastal side of the railway line between Balbriggan and Skerries would remain under the control of the council was welcomed by councillors.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr May McKeon ( NP) said she was confident that the disposal of the large remaining area of land at Hampton would have the support of the community.
' Given the present economic climate it was unlikely that further housing would have been built in the foreseeable future,' she said.
' I am hopeful that the lands in question might be loaned or leased from the proposed holding agency for recreational purposes during the anticipated period of recession given that there are four schools adjoining with limited play area.'
Cllr Tom O'Leary ( FG) said what had seemed a ' no-brainer' when first proposed by council officials was now more complicated. He said he was now leaning towards keeping the sites at Garristown and Skerries, given the fact that the land in Garristown accommodated the GAA Club and the site in Skerries was earmarked for both sheltered and affordable housing.
Cllr Clare Daly ( SP) said she didn't like the speed at which the proposal was being pushed through.
' In the future I don't want to be left crying over the fact that we've given up the right to these lands which could become important,' she said.
' Nobody wants to be burdening the ratepayer but it has to be the right lands.'
