Land use strategy needed for
rail
Dear sir - The dilution of the powers of the new
Transport Authority in relation to land use and planning
in the greater Dublin area may well be a fatal blow to
the campaign to reinstate rail services to County
Meath.
Since reinstatement of Navan's rail link was first
announced in 1998, repeated announcements of the line's
reopening have been undermined by the complete absence of
a land use strategy at local level in the county.
With a new County Development Plan for Meath and several
local area plans due before January which will provide
for 10,000 new homes in the county, an opportunity has
been lost to ensure that these developments complement
the case for the reintroduction of rail services to
Meath.
These 10,000 new homes could have been built at strategic
locations along the route of the old railway to ensure
that the critical mass of population would be localised
at stations along the route.
Doing so would have made reinstatement of Navan's rail
link inevitable - the current shotgun approach of Meath
County Council merely continues to undermine it.
If the commuters of counties such as Meath are to have
any hope that there will be solution to gridlock,
Minister Cullen must ensure that all County Councils in
the region have their Development Plans subject to
approval by the new Transport Authority.
Yours,
PROINSIAS MAC FHEARGHUSA,
Meath on Track PRO,
© The Meath Chronicle, November 18th. 2006.
