Bitter disappointment was expressed by members of Arklow Municipal District that the chance of having 36 new Cluid housing units built in Arklow is all but gone.
Cllr Tommy Annesley raised the matter at the latest district meeting, saying that he heard that a planning application for 36 units on the Vale Road was about to expire and the members knew nothing about it.
'We need to find out what this is all about. We need to get more information on this,' he said.
Cllr Miriam Murphy supported this view and said that she was shocked to learn of the situation.
'We get regular reports from the housing officers, yet this is the first I am hearing of this. I am not in the habit of sleeping through meetings and this has come as a big shock to me. All of a sudden there are 36 houses on a list. Why was this not outlined to the public representatives?' she asked.
Some clarification was offered by Cllr Pat Fitzgerald who said that the planning permission is set to expire on April 1.
'You can get an extension on planning approval if you have the structure up to the wall late. It looks like we won't get this now and it will fall through,' he said.
'Why were we not told? It is a very sorry state of affairs,' he remarked.