Sir, - Your property supplement (March 9th) contains a review by Frank McDonald of three mews houses on a Rathmines laneway in which he waxes lyrical about their bold interior design and innovative use of space. Belgrave Residents Association was among those who opposed the scheme and we would like to sound a more cautionary, less enthusiastic note.
We accept that modern architecture can be successful in certain circumstances as infill housing but definitely not so on this occasion. The feature of this scheme which has most impact on us, as neighbours, is its visual appearance from the adjoining roads and it intrudes on no less than three, Cambridge Road, Castlewood Park and Castlewood Avenue.
The "oblong box", as Frank McDonald described it, is regarded by its neighbours as a blot on the landscape with its flat roof, another box structure on top of the main section and what appear to be water tanks on top of that again, covered in a material which looks like cooking foil.
The clear glazing at either end of the open-plan living room which turns the houses "inside out" in the summer is in contravention of a planning condition and causes great offence to neighbours privacy.
It is irresponsible of Mr McDonald to describe the requirement to provide off-street parking as a mere planning "technicality" not to be taken seriously. This requirement in the Dublin City Development Plan is an essential provision for good planning and should be rigorously applied by the local authority. The provision of new housing on back lanes without integral parking constitutes a hazard and a nuisance for all residents. - Yours, etc.,
Margaret Dillon, Belgrave Residents Association, Rathmines, Dublin 6.