Ali Hewson and other Killiney residents have won their planning battle to halt a luxury residential scheme for the grounds of Montebello House.
This follows Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council refusing planning permission to Covelo Developments Ltd to construct four “very large” two-storey four-bedroom flat-roofed houses for Killiney Hill Road, Killiney.
The Council refused planning permission after the wives of U2 band members, Bono and The Edge, Ali Hewson and Morleigh Steinberg lodged objections against the scheme.
In total, 37 submissions were lodged by local residents with the Council. However, the objectors’ planning win comes with a sting in the tail.
The Council has refused planning permission not due to objectors’ grounds over loss of privacy, overshadowing, negative visual impact and impact on the local character of the area.
Instead, the Council has refused planning on the sole ground that Covelo Developments Ltd did not plan more residential units for the site which leaves the door open for Covelo to lodge revised plans for a scheme in excess of four units.
In its formal refusal the Council stated that notwithstanding the site sensitivities and constraints, it considers that the provision of four units on the site “would represent underdevelopment of an accessible site with convenient access to frequent public transport services via Killiney DART Station and facilities in the nearby neighbourhood centre.”
The Council state that as a result, the proposal does not adhere with the requirements of the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan 2022-2028’s Compact Settlement Guidelines concerning density ranges applied to locations in Dublin classified as “Urban Neighbourhoods”.
The Council state that “as such, the proposed development would therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.
The 26 page Council planner’s report which recommended refusal stated that the proposed density of four units for a 1.13 acre site “constitutes an unsustainable use of land”.
The planner’s report stated that the Council also had significant concerns in relation to the layout of the scheme, the impact on the Protected Structure of Montebello House, impact on existing mature trees and lack of compensatory measures.
The Council state in any future application that these issues be addressed.
In her objection, Alison Hewson stated: “The proposed very modern style of the four houses appears to be inconsistent with the existing architectural and historical fabric of the area.”
“We are concerned that this development, by way of its very modern style, flat roofs, and its use of materials could be significantly out of character with the prevailing architectural styles of the surrounding properties,” she told the Council.
“We feel that this development, by introducing modern housing in such close proximity to Montebello House, would significantly alter the character of its setting, thereby contravening these guidelines,” she said.
“In addition, it is clearly the intention of the applicant to apply for further additional development in closer proximity to Montebello House and we are concerned that this is only a part of a wider scheme to tale over the site with an inappropriate housing density,” she stated.
“We feel it is highly questionable as to whether there is sufficient capacity in the current urban drainage network to accommodate the increase in residential use proposed,” Ms Hewson said.
“The systems historically in this area are subject to problems. We note that the houses each have six bathrooms which would amount to 24 bathrooms overall which is a significant increase in the loads into the system – equivalent to about 12 houses as opposed to 4 applied for,” she added.
Morleigh Steinberg objected on similar grounds and stated: “We are concerned that the removal of mature trees will have a significant negative effect on the local environment and its biodiversity”.
On behalf of designer, John Rocha and his wife Odette Rocha, Luke Hickson from Meitheal Architects stated that a planned road upgrade “indicate that this application is a Trojan Horse for further development of the site and possible consolidation with other surrounding properties”.
Tech entrepreneur, Philip Gannon called on the Council to reject the scheme.
“This development, by introducing modern housing in such close proximity to Montebello House, would significantly alter the character of its setting, thereby contravening these guidelines,” he said.
Killiney resident and former editor of The Economist, Bill Emmott, also objected stating that “as residents of the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA), we express our strong concern that a development of this sort will be in complete contradiction to the purpose of an ACA.”
Planning consultant for Covelo, Kevin Hughes of Hughes Planning and Development Consultants (HPDC), told the Council that “the proposed development comprises the development of four contemporary and modestly scaled residential units within the curtilage of the protected structure at Montebello”.
“We consider that the proposed development would deliver a high-quality residential scheme at an appropriate residential density, on a constrained site, would not detract from the visual or residential amenities of the area, would deliver a satisfactory level of private open space to future residents of the development, and will complement the built character of the area,” he said.
“Finally, it must be reiterated that the proposal will have no impact on the residential amenity of the area, with the proposed houses appropriately orientated and positioned to have an almost entirely imperceptible impact on the public realm,” he added.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
