The Battle For Stylebawn Begins…

The initial plans for Stylebawn House MAR22

t would appear to be the right time for Delgany Community Council to address the potential impact of the planned Stylebawn House development.

Especially given that this is the week that the Ronan Group Real Estate have put out their side of the argument.

Currently with an application for 141 housing units on the 16th century former coach house gardens right in the middle of the village, the Ronan spokesperson stated that the site plans has been ‘carefully designed to high quality specifications and taking into account of its surroundings‘, and ‘will seamlessly integrate into the well-established community in Delgany’.

Ah, Jaysus, that’s lovely…

Hurrah.

‘The proposed buildings respond to the topography of the site and provide a modern response to the setting,’ continues the spokesperson, ‘with notable features including a green roof and facades harmonised to the surrounding terrain. The landscaped areas will benefit from the use of quality materials to define the character of the space along with an extensive planting scheme including feature tree planting, shrub and herbaceous planting, lawns and meadows to enhance the biodiversity of the site.’

For their part, Delgany Community Council have said they are ‘horrified’ by the plans. And that’s why they’ve sent out their latest S.O.V. tonight…

We are appealing for your help to enable us to ensure that whatever development takes place on the Stylebawn site is suitable for the site and complies with the density set in our Local Area Plan.

Two planning applications for the site have been submitted to Wicklow County Council. The Stylebawn site is zoned for development and was previously granted permission for 11 houses in compliance with the local area plan density. This would have allowed for the site to be developed in a way that is suitable. We would love to see the site opened up again and the house and gardens restored to their former glory as well as additional public open space for local residents.

The two proposals that are now with the council would see 141 units on the site, this is 14 times more than what should be allowed under our Local Area Plan.We believe that this is just not suitable.

The Plans

The documents for the first application (Ref 22380) were uploaded on Tuesday, 18 days after the planning was lodged. This delay has seriously impacted on our ability to respond and our ability to help you out in making your submissions. Therefore we have decided to engage a professional planner to draft our submission. You can donate here to support a better result for Delgany.

We need to raise about €5,000 in order to ensure that we cover all the crucial points.

The site is very steep so any construction will see significant earthworks. It is also ecologically sensitive as Three Trouts Stream flows through it. This means that it is just not suited to intense development.

Please support us if you can. Draft points for objection will be circulated to you to help you to draft your own submission and these will be updated once we have our expert input.

If you are not already on our email database please email delganycommunitycouncil@gmail.com to be kept updated on all matters related to Delgany. Both planning applications can be viewed online here.

Further detail on both applications is available below…

Planning Application Reference 22380

This will include two houses and 40 apartments. The apartments are located within a 5 storey block.

The site contains Stylebawn House, a protected structure and Clara House. Clara House is proposed to be demolished to facilitate the proposed development of 40 apartments. Stylebawn is proposed to be retained and repaired following extensive fire damage, being brought back into residential use as a 4 bedroom house. The existing Gardeners Cottage is also proposed to be repaired and brought back into residential use (2 bed house). Submissions are due by May 12th.

Why are we against the proposal?

1 Density

The LAP criteria specifies a density of 2.5 units per hectare for the subject lands within the residential zoning objective. The gross density for the 40 apartments, within the development area excluding the Stylebawn site (excluding Stylebawn House and gardens )is c. 52 units per hectare.

2 Apartments

The local Area Plan states that “Apartments are generally only permitted in village centre locations”. This site is outside Delgany village centre.

3 The Site

The topography comprises a steeply undulating site, which drops steeply from towards the centre and rises again to the south. The site has an existing access from the Glen Road. Works to the entrance to achieve safe sightlines are proposed to the entrance. This will result in the loss of existing trees.

4 Loss of Mature Trees

According to the CMK Arboriculture Assessment & lmpact Report accompanying this application, 204 trees will be removed to facilitate the proposed development. The report tells us that this results in the proposed removal of over two-thirds of trees on site.

5 Flood Risk

The Three Trouts Stream flows through the site and has a wide flood plain. We are concerned at the potential of damage to this waterway and the wildlife that it supports both during and after construction.

You can read more about the history of Stylebawn House here. Or find a less stuffy version over here. Planning Application Ref 22429 is still at pre-validation stage. It involves another apartment block (26 apartments) and 73 terraced houses. We will add more detail as it becomes available.

Submissions are due by May 26th. You can get involved by emailing delganycommunitycouncil@gmail.com, and you can donate to the campaign here.