Activist Ali Hewson and other Killiney residents are opposing new plans for a luxury residential scheme for the grounds of Montebello House.
Ms Hewson is one of 21 parties to lodge submissions with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council concerning Covelo Developments Ltd’s plans to construct a 32-unit apartment scheme in the heart of Killiney village in Dublin.
In her submission, wife of U2 frontman Bono, Ms Hewson has told the council that “along with the many residents in the area who have commented on this application, we would also like to express our concern that the development of a large block of apartments on this site, of such a scale, density and design goes against the natural character of the surrounding area”.
Ms Hewson states that “due to the significant demand that this type of development places on the capacity of existing highly constrained road and drainage infrastructure, an apartment block will have a very negative impact on the residential amenity of the area”.
The new scheme is made up of one three-storey apartment block comprising 11 one-bed apartments; eight two-bed three person apartments; 10 two-bed four person apartments and three three-bed apartments at lands at Montebello House, Killiney Hill Road, Killiney.
The planning application has come eight months after An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) refused planning permission to Covelo Developments for four “very large” two-storey four-bedroom flat-roofed houses on the same site.
ACP refused planning permission as the scheme “would represent underdevelopment of an accessible site with convenient access to frequent public transport services via Killiney DART Station”.
The ACP decision upheld a refusal issued by the Council in April 2025 after the wives of U2 band members, Bono and The Edge, Ali Hewson and Morleigh Steinberg lodged objections against the scheme.
The ACP decision left the door open for Covelo to seek planning for a much larger development on the site.
Another to lodge an objection against the new scheme is Killiney resident and one time editor of The Economist magazine and author, Bill Emmott.
In his submission, Mr Emmott said that “as a general remark addressed to those reading this who may wish to dismiss objectors as merely the selfish affluent residents of Killiney – please note that the ONLY reason this or its predecessor application has been made is that the developer wishes to exploit the affluence and high land values of Killiney by creating profitably high priced housing”.
Mr Emmott – who served as editor of The Economist between 1993 and 2006 – contends that “the developer is the selfish affluent party here”.
Another local resident, Caroline Moloney, told the council that Killiney is a very old area of Dublin and is much prized and cherished by all who live in the area.
Ms Moloney argues that Killiney “is being systematically destroyed with new developments of flats and new houses being squeezed in everywhere with the detriment of the trees and leafy greenery of this beautiful area continuing to be an enormous loss to the environment for future generations”.
Peter Cahill and Olga Cahill told the council that the proposed building works would be excessive and have a detrimental effect on adjacent properties within the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA).
The Cahills state that “the construction of a large block of apartments, of such a height and scale would be out of character to that established in the general area”.
In another submission, Mark Regan and Alison Regan have told the council that “this project is an oversized, insensitive intervention that relies on a compromised environmental baseline, completely ignores local infrastructure constraints and directly threatens the privacy and structural safety of our home”.
In another objection lodged by Brian McBryan on behalf of eight households on Marino Avenue West they state that while they acknowledge that some development is likely to be necessary, the current proposal “is seriously flawed”.
Local resident Stephen White told the council that “shoehorning high density, overly high, and inappropriately designed apartment blocks into these areas, such as the proposed development represents, does not protect and enhance existing residential amenity”.
However, in a planned report lodged with the new scheme, planning consultant for Covelo, Kevin Hughes, has stated that the new proposal “provides an appropriate density of development, in line with the density range guided by national policy, thus directly addressing the refusal reason raised by both the Council and the Commission in respect of the recent application on this site”.
Mr Hughes stated that the scheme appropriate density of development “reflects the accessibility of the subject site, whilst presenting no undue impact on the character of the immediate area”.
He further contends that the new plans are “representative of an appropriately scaled infill development scheme which ensures the efficient use of zoned and serviced land”.
He said that the development provides “for a modest increase in building height, relative to the prevailing height within the immediate area, and conveniently introduces one and two-bedroom units thus enhancing the variety of residential units in the area and offering existing residents a viable downsizing option”.
The new scheme is designed by PCOT Architects and a design statement lodged with the application states that the the design goal “is to create a high-quality residential development that incorporates sustainable design to ensure the development can be delivered in a manner that protects local neighbourhood and at the same time contribute positively to the local context”.
The design statement states that the proposed scheme “offers future residents a unique location in the heart of Killiney next to Montebello House in a high quality modern development”.
A decision is due on the application next month.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
