Serious concerns raised over Louth County Council’s submission in relation to Ardee 2040

Serious concerns have been raised by Michael O’Dowd over Louth County Council’s submission to An Bord Coimisiún (formerly An Bord Pleanála) in relation to the Ardee 2040 project, following the identification of what he said are material discrepancies between maps used during public consultation and those now relied upon in the Council’s submission.

Michael O’Dowd, a member of the Railway Memorial Park Committee, said that the plans submitted to An Bord Pleanála differ substantially from those presented to the public as recently as last October. These differences are not minor or cosmetic, he added, they go to the core layout and land-use assumptions underpinning the project.

Mr O'Dowd said that “a clear and concrete example of this discrepancy is the treatment of community allotments”. He said that as recently as last October, community allotments had been removed from the proposals presented to the public.

However, in the maps now submitted to An Bord Pleanála, he said, community allotments reappear as a central element of the Council’s plan. At the same time, there is no mention in the current plans of the Memorial Garden, despite its established importance as a space of remembrance and community significance.

Mr O'Dowd went on to highlight that further inconsistencies arise in relation to car parking provision. Following public consultation, the size of the proposed car park was reduced in response to concerns around scale and sustainability.

Read also: Carlingford Lough Greenway partially closed due to debris

However, in the plans now before An Bord Pleanála he pointed out, the car park has been increased again, returning to a scale that had previously been acknowledged as unsustainable.

He said that taken together, the reintroduction of community allotments, the omission of the Memorial Garden, and the expansion of the car park, illustrate how fundamentally different the proposal now before the Board is from that which the public was asked to engage with only months ago.

Mr O'Dowd added that accurate and consistent mapping is fundamental to meaningful public participation. When the public is consulted on one set of maps, only for materially different maps to be submitted for approval shortly afterwards, the consultation process is fundamentally undermined.

“These are not technical tweaks,” said Mr O’Dowd. “People engaged with this process in good faith based on the maps they were shown as recently as last October. What is now before An Bord Pleanála is materially different.

“Community allotments were removed and are now reinstated, the Memorial Garden has disappeared altogether, and a car park that was scaled back after consultation has been expanded again to an unsustainable size. That is not meaningful consultation.”

Mr O'Dowd further added that these concerns are compounded by the fact that key site features, including a grotto and historic well, were not included in the baseline documentation supporting the submission. Baseline studies are intended to identify all existing environmental, cultural, and community features and Mr O'Dowd said that their omission raises serious questions about the reliability of the assessments that follow.

Mr O’Dowd has called on An Bord Coimisiún to examine whether the Ardee 2040 submission complies with statutory requirements, including fair procedures, proper planning, and transparent public engagement.

“The integrity of the planning system depends on consistency and trust,” he said. “When maps change and community uses appear or disappear without explanation, that trust is seriously damaged.”

“There are many good aspects of the overall plan and we have no issue with them being progressed but the Council should withdraw the proposals relating to the Railway Park and enter meaningful consultations in relation to it.”