Councillor objects to art gallery change of use

PERMITTING an art gallery on the Southside to be used as a private residence could damage confidence in the planning system, it has been claimed.

In late August Marie Donnelly, former chairwoman of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, applied to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for permission to change the existing use of the Donnelly Art Gallery on Vico Road in Killiney to a private residence.

The current zoning on the land where the art gallery is located is

‘F’. This allows for

“recreational amenities

? and the use of the gallery for

“caretaker accommodation and residential use

? but does not permit the building to be used as a private dwelling.

The county council granted permission for the art gallery in 1996 on condition that it be open to the public for 60 days a year.

A planning report submitted to the county council to support the owner’s application for the change of use noted that the building was used as a private gallery for several years after the building was completed in 2002.

“However, the owner of the gallery then left Ireland to live abroad and over the following years the artworks within the building have been removed,

? the report states.

“The owner has examined alternative uses of the building but the only practical alternative is that of a private house.

?

Cllr Victor Boyhan (Ind) has called on the council to reject the application.

He claimed that the zoning on the land where the gallery is located does not permit residential development under the current County Development Plan.

“To allow the building to be turned into a residential building would set a bad precedent and damage confidence in the council’s planning system,

? he claimed.

A spokesperson for the council said it does not comment on current planning applications.