A FINAL GRANT of planning approval has been issued to U2′s The Edge for a new family home in Sorrento Road in Dalkey in south Dublin – 23 years after his first planning attempt for the same site.
The Edge can now press ahead with his plans to renovate and build a three level extension to his Sorrento Cottage property on the Vico Road and Sorrento Road site which overlooks Killiney Bay with the final grant of approval coming through.
Last month, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council granted planning permission to David Evans for the scheme and there was the risk that the decision could have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála – and the plan put on hold – as there was one third party submission on the planning file.
However, the Council has now issued The Edge with the final approval after no appeals were lodged allowing the U2 guitarist to press ahead with his redevelopment plan.
The Edge only lodged his planning application on 19 September and the smooth sailing of his current application in three months is in marked contrast to his previous application for the site which took three years to make its way through the planning and legal process.
In December 2000, David Evans lodged plans for the Sorrento Cottage revamp and the Council granted planning permission in January 2001.
However, that Council decision was the spark for a long running planning battle that ended up in the High Court.
An Taisce appealed against the Council decision in February 2001 with An Bord Pleanála refusing planning permission in October 2001.
In refusing planning permission, the appeals board dismissed a recommendation by its own inspector to grant planning permission and Evans took a High Court judicial review of the appeals board refusal and in November 2003, the High Court upheld the An Bord Pleanála decision.
In relation to the new planning application, the planner’s report concluded that the proposal would not adversely impact on the residential amenity of adjacent properties by reason of overshadowing, overlooking or overbearing appearance.
The planner’s report also found that the proposed development “would not significantly detract from the character and the provisions of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan”.
The report stated that the proposal has adopted a sensitive and contemporary design approach which respects the established character of the area.
The report also concluded that the extension elements over three storeys “have taken into consideration the visual amenity of the receiving environment’s landscape attributes and features”.
The report states that the development “also benefits from the proposed extensive use of green roofs” and “this will have a camouflaging the built form of the extension when viewed from surrounding areas.
Only one submission was made to the Council by a third party and local, Michael Shiell who told the Council of his concerns over the scheme’s planned fencing by stating that “this area is a special amenities area and must be protected and not turned, externally into a prison camp”.
In response, the Council included a condition that the boundary walls will be maintained at their existing height.
The new “innovative” scheme by ODAA Architects includes a recording studio and a separate bath-house containing a plunge pool and sauna.
Sorrento Cottage has been vacant since the mid-1990s and ODAA Architects told the council that their brief “was to bring the existing structure back into use as our client’s primary dwelling”.
ODAA Architects told the council that they have adopted a sensitive approach to the refurbishment of the existing residential structure and the design of the new additions, commenting that “the proposed development will have a positive impact on the visual character of the area”.
The plan for the 2.75 acre site – which his located adjacent to Sorrento Terrace – is to also include a security hut and planning documents lodged with the application state that a key aspect of the proposal “will be to meet the unique safety needs of the Evans family associated with the high profile profession of Evans. It is mandatory that a 24-hour security is provided on site”.
The report stated that the site’s “largely secluded location” as it is bounded by Killiney Bay “meets the needs of the Evans family over similarly sized properties in the area”.
The Thornton O’Connor Town report stated that the internal reconfiguration work of Sorrento Cottage “will provide high quality residential amenity spaces for the Evans family including an open plan kitchen diner with a connected living area”.
In a separate comprehensive 45-page planning report by Thornton O’Connor Town Planning, Director at the consultancy, Sadhbh O’Connor told the Council that the proposed extension and renovation “will ultimately provide a high-quality and carefully designed family home that appropriately responds to the sensitive environment in which it is sited”.
O’Connor has stated that the scheme’s retained design team for the newly proposed development addresses the reasons for refusal by An Bord Pleanála to the previous scheme.
O’Connor stated that the main extension and refurbished and renovated house incorporates a range of rooms, including six ensuite bedrooms, living and lounge rooms, kitchen and dining rooms, study and studio spaces. The scheme also includes an archive room.
The proposed development also includes the demolition of a number of structures on site including single-storey extensions, a greenhouse, a detached garage and external stores.
O’Connor has told the council that “the provision of a high-quality extension over three levels, integrated into the landscape, to make use of a currently vacant and under-utilised dwelling in an accessible location” according with national planning policy.
O’Connor stated that the scheme will bring a currently vacant dwelling back into habitable use and occupation.
The Edge assembled a team of experts from nine separate planning and engineering firms to advance the plan and the new scheme has evolved over the last two years as O’Connor lodged her first pre-planning report on the plan with the Council in August 2021.
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