Kenny comes out fighting against plans for new houses on his doorstep
Broadcaster and wife object to apartment block and houses plan
PAT Kenny and his wife Kathy are opposing plans for three apartment blocks and seven houses on a site adjacent to their home in Dalkey, south county Dublin.
One of the country’s best-known broadcasters, Mr Kenny was previously involved in a long-running and costly legal dispute over a strip of land adjacent to his house.
The dispute became known as the Battle for Gorse Hill.
Now the house previously owned by the now deceased neighbour who was the other party in that case is to be redeveloped. Maple Tree House was owned by the late Gerard Charlton.
In August, property firm Bartra Capital Property – founded by developer Richard Barrett – paid €3.1m for the Maple Tree House site adjacent to the Kenny’s home and also paid for an additional 0.51-acre site to allow the planning application to be lodged last month.
The application consists of 19 apartments in three blocks ranging up to four storeys along with five three-bedroomed homes and two semi-detached homes on the 1.4 acre site.
Architects for the scheme said great care has been taken to protect privacy between the proposed units and out from the site to the existing houses.
However, the Bartra plan is meeting with stiff local opposition with 11 other objections lodged by locals in addition to the Kenny objection.
The comprehensive Kenny objection runs to 16 pages and is signed by Pat Kenny and Kathy Kenny.
The objection – carried out to a high professional standard and apparently drawn up by the Kennys themselves – points out that their home, The Anchorage, abuts the subject site.
The objection states:
“In my opinion, the proposed development by the applicant is not in compliance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
The objection says if permitted the development “would detrimentally impact on The Anchorage” and other residential properties in the area.
“It would also set a precedent that could ultimately seriously damage the character of the area.”
The Kennys say the proposed development would materially contravene theDúnLaogh air eR athd own County Council development plan’s policies and objectives for the subject site.
They say planning permission should be refused as “this development is ill-thought and appears based on the quest for density alone with scant other consideration”.
“At the outset, Ireland is undergoing a housing crisis.
“Therefore, it is incumbent to realise the development potential of serviced residential ly zone land.
“However, as outlined clearly in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County development plan, any densification of brownfield lands must be balanced with respect for the receiving environment of established residential properties.”
The Kennys are opposing the plan on a number of grounds – density, scale and massing, design, traffic impact, impact on trees and habitat and residential amenity. They say the development will result in gross overlooking along with loss of light and loss of privacy of The Anchorage.
They say “the duplex apartments at the end of the site overlook The Anchorage and any roof terrace or window would be less than 15 metres from our daughter’s bedroom window and 19 metres from our bedroom window”.
Consultants for Bartra Capital Property have told the council the seven houses are modest in size for the area and are either terraced or semi-detached.
A decision is due on the application before the end of this month.
It is ‘illthought and appears based on quest for density alone’