Julianstown: Locals Only?
It was reported in the Drogheda Independent today that Meath County Council is considering requiring new houses in Julianstown to be bought by locals only. Locals being people who were born and rared or have lived in the area for more than 10 years.The motivation for this proposal to affect Julianstown, Mornington, Donore and Gormanston is to limit the growth of these villages in favour of larger urban areas such as Drogheda and Laytown/Bettystown.
No doubt this will limit the available market for new builds and also put a premium on existing houses. Can't see any holder of zoned land being too happy with it. Already in many parts of the country there exists a "local needs" requirement for one off houses. (Sometimes quoted as "locals need only apply). There are also some language requirements for developments in Gaeltacht areas.
It is hard to see the imposition of a locals only rule being constitutional or in line with EU law and while the one-off local rule still exists, it does not seem to have been challenged. This situation might change if the proposed rule is adopted by the Council and we could see people with a lot to lose taking on the council.
posted by FPL @ 8:10 PM
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