Monaghan County Council agreed on five final outstanding amendments to the Draft County Development Plan yesterday. The county development plan contains an overall strategy for the proper planning and development of County Monaghan for the period 2025 - '31. Councillors must decide on what land to re-zone for industry, predict what infrastructure will be required and plan and build appropriate housing requirements. Up until yesterday's meeting, councillors met 37 times to thrash out the finer detail of the plan for each MD, town and village in the county. They met 14 times in January alone.
Before that, the draft plan went to public consultation last September and in total, 149 submissions were made to the Chief Executive with suggestions for what citizens and elected members want to see developed in County Monaghan. Some of the issues councillors disagreed on is the 100-metre rule in place for developing agricultural land, the re-zoning of lands at Coolshannagh, and Drumbear and the concerning vacant rates at Monaghan Retail park.
However, following voting on each issue, councillors formally accepted the Chief Executive's Report, with it likely to be brought back to the chamber in May when it is expected to be officially ratified. Fianna Fáil Councillor PJ O'Hanlon said he is confident the future is bright for County Monaghan:
