Louise Walsh
A planning application is due to be lodged with Meath County Council for an emergency temporary village with 569 detached homes, apparently for Ukrainian refugees
The site notice applicants hope to get the green light for the 33 square metre detached single storey properties on almost 16 hectares of land near the train station at Laytown.
The application by Melvin Properties Ltd and Ketut Limited intends to apply for temporary planning permission for a period of five years for the development of an emergency temporary accommodation campsite and ancillary works on lands at Ninch.
Local Fine Gael Councillor Sharon Tolan says she was "reserving judgement" on the application until she was able to study it in detail.
"This application, to my knowledge, has not yet been received by Meath County Council's planning department and I expect the file will be very detailed with the relevant assessments," she said.
"I was involved in getting the site rezoned for employment use, so I would be pushing for a specific timeline on this development and not have a 'temporary' development for 20 years as in the case of Mosney Village.
"Everyone in the area has been so welcoming to families from Ukraine who have come to a strange country through no fault of their own and often without a husband or father or son who has had to stay behind to fight.
"Absolutely, we should be doing everything we can do to accommodate these displaced families, but the application should be given due consideration to ensure both the needs of the community and the needs of the Ukrainians are met in the right and positive way.
"People have expressed concerns on the pressure this village may have on school places and GP services and what we don't want is to create any unnecessary segregation or divide."
