Re: Re: Development potential of land

I understand what you’re saying and don’t feel too happy about the whole way the process works myself. But you can’t blame the landowner for trying to increase the value, particularly if farming is no longer viable. It’s the responsibility of the council to act in the best interests of the wider community and say no to development which might be unsuitable for the area. I’d only really feel guilty if I used political influence to overrule the arguments of the planners. If the system worked as it should, then it shouldn’t be up to people like me whether the region is ruined or not.

It would certainly be foolish to choose not to get land zoned out of principle, then decide to sell on, only for someone else to come in and get the whole thing developed. If someone is that principled and concerned, they’d better be prepared to stay put and look after the land as well or else limit their buyers to only the most high-minded individuals in society. From looking around Ireland today, they might be a long time waiting to sell in that case 🙂

Actually, if I did get zoning and planning, I think I’d be a lot more generous then the average developer. The way I see it, the whole thing is so profitable that it shouldn’t be a problem to make adequate provision for schools, recreational facilities etc, even if that means sacrificing land that could be turned into apartments and houses. There’s enough for everyone. Alas, people who think like that probably won’t end up getting to decide these things. Or else they just get consumed by greed once they get into that position and proceed to squeeze the very last amount of profit out of every last inch of land they own. It’s terrible to see what the whiff of sudden wealth can do to people.

In any case, it looks like I’m probably late with this one. So I guess I’ll be spraying weeds, fixing fences and trying to prevent the disused hay barn from falling apart for a while yet 🙂