Gillian Bowler gets permission for four large mews to replace house

Former Irish Life and Permanent bank boss Gillian Bowler has been granted planning permission to demolish her home in the heart of Donnybrook in order to replace it with four large mews houses. Bowler's home at 32 Morehampton Lane is a 1950s house extending to 205sq m (2,200sq ft) with an overall site of just under 0.4 acres.

The home was extended on four occasions during the 1990s and Bowler’s architects, de Blacam and Meagher, describe it in the planning application as being of little architectural value.

Bowler’s proposed development includes one three-bedroom, two- storey home and three four-bedroom homes spread over three storeys, all of which feature barrelled roofs. The combined size of the four houses will be 926sq m (9,970sq ft) and each house will have two parking spaces.

The businesswoman’s decision to develop the property should come as little surprise given the high prices achieved in the desirable Dublin 4 locale as of late. In nearby Ballsbridge, Oakmount Development constructed a terrace of three ultra-modern townhouses on Percy Lane. Two of the three have sold rather swiftly with asking prices of €1.295 million and €1.25 million each. By comparison, Bowler’s properties will be larger detached houses with good-sized southwesterly rear gardens and may attract an even higher premium.

Many of Bowler's neighbours opposed the development, with 11 parties objecting to the proposed plans for various reasons including privacy issues. Former Sunday Times Irish editor Rory Godson and his wife objected to the development.

Their concerns regarded the increased burden that would be put on the road’s already strained drainage system and was echoed by other neighbours, who revealed that their homes on Morehampton Road have been flooded on more than one occasion in recent years following heavy rainfall.