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Appraisal of submissions relating to Record of Protected Structures and Architectural Conservation Areas South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review A review prepared by John Cronin & Associates on behalf of South Dublin County Council January 2016 Contents Background ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Ice House, Lucan ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Woodtown Cottages, Mount Venus Road ...................................................................................................... 5 3. Possible extension of Tallaght ACA ................................................................................................................. 7 4. Boden Village Cottages ......................................................................................................................................... 9 5. Saint James, Knocklyon Road .......................................................................................................................... 10 6. Mount St. Joseph graveyard, Monastery Road, Clondalkin ................................................................. 11 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Appendix 1: Balrothery Cottages ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Appendix 2: Boden Village Cottages (Ballyboden Road) ....................................................................................... 20 Appraisal of submissions relating to RPS and ACAs 2 South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review Background South Dublin County Council engaged John Cronin & Associates to support a review of the Record of Protected Structures (RPS) and candidate Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs) as part of the statutory review of the South Dublin County Council Development Plan. This review of the South Dublin County Development Plan, pursuant to Section 11 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) commenced on 5th September 2014. This process will take up to 2 years and will conclude with the publication of the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016 – 2022. Following completion of the review process, the Council published the “South Dublin County Council Draft Development Plan 2016-2022”. The Draft Plan was on public display from Monday 13th July to Thursday 24th September 2015. During this period, the Planning Authority received submissions relating to proposed additions, deletion and amendments to the RPS and with regard the proposed ACAs. In November 2015, the Planning Department requested that John Cronin & Associates undertake an additional review of specific submissions relating to the following buildings or areas - Ice House, Lucan - Woodtown Cottages, Mount Venus Road - Possible Extension of Tallaght ACA - Boden Village Cottages - Saint James, Knocklyon Road Finally, in January 2016, the author was requested to appraise one final site for possible inclusion in the Council’s Record of Protected Structures: - Mount St. Joseph graveyard, Monastery Road, Clondalkin The following document outline a summary response and recommendations in relation to these buildings/areas. John Cronin BA MRUP MUBC January 2016 Appraisal of submissions relating to RPS and ACAs 3 South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review 1. Ice House, Lucan During the appraisal of the existing Record of Protected Structures, the mapped location for an ice house (RPS No. 90) on the County Development Plan zoning mapping was noted to be incorrect. The development plan has listed an icehouse since before the formal adoption of the Record of Protected Structures (i.e. before 2000). The location marked on the CDP mapping pinpoints the grounds of a gated apartment complex “The Orchard”. During a site visit in January 2015, no discernible trace of an ice house was found within the complex or at the approximate position shown on the CDP mapping. Furthermore the icehouse was also not recorded by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and little or no background information was available to SDCC. At the time, it was considered that the ice house may have been confused with an ice house that is situated within the grounds/demesne of Lucan House (the Italian Embassy) and it was recommended that this protected structure be deleted from the Record of Protected Structures. Plate 1.1: North entrance to ice house During the course of the development plan review, a submission advised that an ice house is present within the grounds of The Orchard complex. It is located a short distance to the south of the apartment block that contains Nos. 59 -82 The Orchard. The icehouse is situated within open space and survives intact (the opening to the icehouse is gated). The correct ITM co-ordinates for the icehouse are as follows: 702960 (E), 734913 (N). Recommendation: The icehouse (RPS No. 90) should not be removed from the Record of Protected Structures as its true location has been confirmed. However its location on CDP mapping should be amended to the co-ordinates outlined above. Appraisal of submissions relating to RPS and ACAs 4 South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review 2. Woodtown Cottages, Mount Venus Road A submission has been made to the Development Plan Review requesting that these cottages be added to Record of Protected Structures (RPS). I note that the buildings are not identified on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). On inspection, these consist of two pairs of semi-detached houses that were built in the early twentieth century. Plate 2.1: Early-twentieth century semi-detached cottage (built between 1912 and 1938) with later- twentieth century extensions to North-East Plate 2.2: South façade of Woodtown cottage from R115 Killakee Road Appraisal of submissions relating to RPS and ACAs 5 South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review They are of a pleasant appearance but do not present a strong/coherent architectural elevation or expression. Furthermore there is no innovative design or material utilised in the construction of the buildings. They have also been modernised and extended to varying degrees. Plate 2.3: West gable end and South façade of Western cottage at Woodtown with replacement uPVC windows Recommendation: The buildings of slight historical interest and of very modest architectural character. They do not warrant addition to the Record of Protected Structures. Furthermore, the buildings as a group do not present as visually-coherent complex or present a strong presence to the public thoroughfare. Consequently, the group of building are not of sufficient architectural character to warrant designation as either Protected Structures (on an individual basis) or an Architectural Conservation Area (collectively). Appraisal of submissions relating to RPS and ACAs 6 South Dublin County Council Development Plan Review 3. Possible extension of Tallaght ACA We understand that a submission has been made to request that that the extent of the ACA area in Tallaght be extended to: (a) “include St Mary’s school house – which was cut off from the traditional village streetscape by the creation of the new road & crossroads at Main Road & Main Street & New Greenhills Road”. (b) “extend the ACA to the East to include the TJ Burns [sic] cottages at Balrothery and to the South to include Goose Park & TJ Burns [sic] cottages on the Old Bawn Road”. Having inspected the areas concerned, I would have strong reservations about extending the current ACA boundary (the Architectural Heritage Guidelines stress the need for focused, coherent and historically- justifiable boundaries). It is considered that St. Mary’s School House is a building of some merit however a detailed appraisal of the building and its associated site would be required. In addition it is separated from the historic village core by virtue of the much-upgraded Greenhills Road. It is also considered that extending the ACA to include the TJ Byrne-designed cottages at Balrothery and at Goose Park and the Old Bawn Road, would not be in keeping with sound conservation area designation policy and practice. However it is our opinion that the range of buildings that make up Balrothery Cottages are a discreet and distinct grouping with a high degree of architectural design and detailing. It is considered there is a case to identify that terrace as an Architectural Conservation Area in its own right (as per Riverside Cottages which is a candidate ACA in the current draft plan) (Appendix 1 contains a summary opinion on the designation of this terrace as an ACA). The other range of buildings mentioned in the development plan submission are of a later date and, in our opinion, of a far lesser quality in terms of architectural expression and detailing. Recommendation It is recommended that the boundary of the existing ACA for Tallaght Village should not be extended. However SDCC should consider establishing a distinct ACA for Balrothery Cottages as they represent a distinct grouping and are of sufficient architectural quality and significance. Below (see Figure 3.1) we outline an indicative yet coherent boundary for the possible designation