Rezoning conflicted with advice of manager

The trial of four councillors accused of accepting bribes to rezone more than 100 acres of land has heard that the rezoning went against the advice of the then county manager.

Former county manager of Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council Donal Marren warned in 1997 that it would be “premature” to rezone the agricultural land as industrial, due to inadequate road access and water supplies.

Giving evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown senior planner Richard Cremins said he also felt the 1998 rezoning “didn’t make sense in planning terms”.