The High Court dismissed a judicial review brought by McGarrell Reilly Homes Limited and Alcove Ireland Eight Limited challenging the zoning of four parcels of land in the Meath County Development Plan 2021–2027.
In a judgment delivered on 1 July 2022, Mr Justice Humphreys said the companies could not challenge individual zonings in isolation from the county-wide housing strategy. The court also rejected their arguments that the council had breached national or regional planning requirements, failed to give adequate reasons, or failed to carry out a proper strategic environmental assessment.
The lands comprised a 27.6-hectare site at Kilcock and three sites at Stamullen: Crowe’s land, measuring 3.44 hectares; Silverstream lands, at 5.26 hectares; and Haran’s lands, at 9.39 hectares. Under the previous plan, each had been designated A2 residential post-2019. In the new plan, the Kilcock site was designated A2 Phase II post-2027; Crowe’s land was zoned for community infrastructure; Silverstream lands for rural use; and Haran’s lands for warehouse and distribution.
The companies argued that the council had not followed a tiered approach to zoning or published an infrastructure assessment report. The judge held that the plan did not envisage housing on the sites during its lifetime, so the cited national framework requirements for assessing zoned land did not apply to them. He also said the distribution of housing had to be considered across the county, and adding sites for housing without addressing the overall allocation could undermine the core strategy.
On the regional strategy ground, the judge found that the council’s approach did not breach a binding requirement to reserve the sites for housing after the plan expired. He said a development plan could only govern land use during its own lifetime, and future housing provision would have to be considered under a later plan.
The companies also relied on the previous plan’s reference to a prior commitment regarding future zoning. The judge found that this did not guarantee residential zoning in a later plan or create a legitimate expectation. He said the council had given the main reasons for its decisions, including the outer-peripheral location of the Silverstream and Haran lands and the proposed playground use of Crowe’s land.
The court rejected the environmental assessment challenge, finding that the law did not require a site-by-site infrastructure survey and that material assets had been addressed in the environmental report. It also noted that the companies sought to quash only the parts of the plan concerning their lands, leaving the county-wide housing allocations and hierarchy intact.
The proceedings were dismissed. The matter was listed for mention on 11 July 2022 to deal with consequential matters.