Delgany residents oppose demolition of 1700s cottage

Plans to demolish a single-storey cottage dating from the 1700s in an architectural conservation area in Delgany Village in Co Wicklow, have been lodged with Wicklow County Council.

Honeybrook cottage is one of a series of three, connected buildings which were once a dower house belonging to the La Touche family, the other two being Westgate and Malvern. Malvern also served as a spa in the 19th century offering baths and views out over an adjacent valley.

Honeybrook cottage is now one of the oldest buildings in Delgany village, and is of a similar period to the nearby Stylebawn, which was severely damaged by fire in 2016, after it was sold to property developers some years earlier.

According to the plans lodged on December 23rd, Honeybrook would be demolished and a four storey block would be constructed on the site with offices or shops at entry level and nine, two-bedroom apartments overhead. The development proposes balconies at north, south, east and west elevations with communal amenity space at roof level.

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Mature trees and an old stone wall at the entrance to the property would be removed.

Objection

Delgany Community Council has taken issue with the development urging locals to lodge an objection, not just because of the property’s location within the architectural area and its heritage value, but also because of traffic on the road.

The road into the village from Greystones is lined by high walls and large vehicles frequently have to stop to allow cars or buses to pass.

Alison O’Donnell from Delgany Community Council said the group had “contact from several residents who are very concerned” about the planning application.

She said the level of building in the area in the last year would add several thousand new homes and the road network in the village was already over capacity. Ms O’Donnell urged Delgany residents to file an objection by the deadline of February 25th. “Delgany is a heritage village and has unique character as a result of its older buildings,” she said.

“As well as the loss of heritage we also have great concerns regarding the impact on roads and traffic as well as the loss of habitat with felling of mature trees,” she added.

The Wicklow County Development Plan defines the Delgany Architectural Conservation Area as stretching from the Waterpump at the west of the village to Christ Church at the eastern end. While Malvern is a protected structure neither Westgate nor Honeybrook appear to be listed.

Application

Attempts to contact the developer were not successful at the time of writing. According to the planning application “it is this application’s objective to provide a development which positively contributes to the character and identity of the neighbourhood and creates the feeling that it has evolved naturally as part of the surroundings by providing a design concept that is sensitive to its surroundings”.

The application also said the 0.23 hectare site (0.57 acre) is zoned “VC village centre – to protect, provide for and improve a mix of village centre services and facilities” in accordance with the zoning objectives of the Greystones, Delgany and Kilcoole local area plan 2013-2019.