Roche offers hope on rural planning
With so much opposition from local authorities and others, I am very pleased Mr Roche has joined the campaign to preserve rural life by allowing families to build in the countryside. "Forcing everybody to live in the anonymity of large housing estates, on the edge of towns, is not the answer," Minister Roche said, and I agree.
At present, local authorities are approving development plans for the next five years. Will rural housing get an airing? By no means.
Thousands of houses will be zoned for towns and cities with rural villages brushed aside and inhabitants told to "build near towns and cities where services are available".
The simple fact is that people have a right to live the country, often on farms occupied by their forefathers.
We are told that ribbon development is not desirable in rural areas. That may be so, but in many cases these give people the chance to buy their first home or to get off council housing lists. A sympathetic view should be taken of people seeking planning permission for single houses in rural areas. Perhaps group applications could be allowed and group facilities put in place for water, sewerage, etc.
It is a basic human right that people should be free to choose where they wish to live, subject to reasonable regulation rather than strict prohibition. People who wish to live in the countryside should have the same right to do so as those who wish to live in urban areas.
I am well aware of the heartache suffered by young couples and others resulting from planning refusals, even on family holdings.
With Mr Roche now promoting the preservation of rural Ireland, there is hope for those anxious to set up home where they were born and reared.
While I am thankful to him, I will not be totally satisfied until he brings all such proposals to fruition.
Cllr Noel Collins
'St Jude's'
Midleton
Co Cork
