Wicklow council refuses permission to convert Sinéad O’Connor’s former home into apartments

Wicklow County Council has refused planning permission to convert the former Bray seafront home of singer Sinéad O’Connor into apartments. The house, Montebello, was sold in 2021 for just over €1 million.

In refusing planning permission, the council said the scheme would be out of character with the streetscape and would intrude on views of the protected structures in the vicinity of the site.

The local authority refused planning permission after local opposition to the scheme.

In its refusal, the council also ruled that the scheme’s proposed roof-projecting structure would seriously injure the amenities of the area and would adversely impact on the architectural character of the seafront area.

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In May of last year, BBA Architecture, on behalf of Rachel Carthy, lodged plans with the council to convert Montebello on Bray’s promenade into five apartments.

The internationally renowned singer sold the six-bed house, which is located on the Strand Road on Bray’s seafront, in 2021 for €1.04 million.

The initial proposal by Ms Carthy also included the construction of a three-storey extension to the rear of the existing building with balconies to the rear and West elevation.

The council has refused planning permission despite Ms Carthy lodging revised plans with the height of the rear extension reduced by a variety of amounts.

A number of objections were lodged and in one lodged on behalf of the next-door neighbours on Strand Rd, Ceceline and Frank Power, it was claimed that the scheme was “an excessive and far too commercial development that fails to have due regard to the protection of the residential amenities of adjoining houses”.

The Power objection – drafted by Peter P. Gillett & Associates – contended that “the quest to maximise the amount of development on site undermines the existing quality of the living environment that our clients enjoy and that would be reasonable to protect”.

It went on to say that “overshadowing, overlooking and visual overbearance will occur and significantly erode our clients residential amenities and also the market value of their home”.

Strand Road residents Gareth and Andree Douglas also objected while David Armstong from nearby Meath Road said that it would be improper and careless to allow a prominent Victorian property to be altered in the way proposed.