Wexford developer alleged to have ‘encroached on property’ of neighbouring landowner — ‘some of them are too big for their boots’
Wexford PeopleA builder in the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD) may be subject to court proceedings after it was alleged he has “encroached” on the property of a neighbouring landowner.
Wexford County Council (WCC) has issued a warning letter to the developer, but the works are continuing despite the concerns of local councillors.
At the monthly meeting of the RMD, Councillor Jim Codd said he had been in contact with the landowner who is alleging his property is being interfered with by this housing development.
“This landowner lives beside the development, and he maintains that there’s been an encroachment onto his property, that there were trees torn out of his land during the summer,” said Cllr Codd.. “I want to see us build houses as much as anyone, but when you have a developer who encroaches on the little bit of ground the man beside him has, we should be telling him to stop..”
Although Cllr Codd had been made aware that the council’s planning enforcement team was pursuing the case, the timescale of the processes in place did not fill him with confidence.
“I know this developer has been written to and a member of our planning enforcement team has visited the site, but the process is so slow,” he said. “If you misbehave it’ll be years before the council can take you to task. And the developer has gone by then, they’ve done the job and moved on.”
One option for the landowner is to bring the developer to court themselves, however, this comes with associated costs.
“Bringing these cases to court costs thousands,” said Cllr Codd. “The council gives clearance for these works to commence and if there are issues it’s the council which needs to take action. An individual shouldn’t need to reach deep into their pockets to push back against a big developer.”
Senior planning officer Sonia Hunt confirmed that a warning letter had been issued to the developer and that the four-week response period had elapsed.
“A site inspection will now take place and an enforcement notice may be issued,” she added. “The legislation is set by the government, WCC can’t change the timeframe or the legit remit given to us.”
“How long until it goes to the courts?” asked Cllr Codd.
“Years,” replied Cllr Ger Carthy on Ms Hunt’s behalf.
“Really, the small person has no hope here,” said Cllr Codd. “A big developer can come in beside you and do what they want. We have to make sure people aren’t throwing their weight around, some of them are too big for their boots.”