16.10.16 Mews Dwellings

Mews Dwellings

a) Dublin City Council will actively encourage schemes which provide a unified approach to the development of residential mews lanes and where consensus between all property owners has been agreed. This unified approach framework is the preferred alternative to individual development proposals.

b) Stone/brick coach houses on mews laneways are of national importance. Dublin City Council recognises the increasing rarity of stone/brick coach houses and the need to retain and conserve all of the surviving examples, particularly in relation to their form, profile and building line as well as any original features remaining. Proposals to demolish such buildings will generally not be accepted.

c) Development will generally be confined to two-storey buildings. In certain circumstances, three-storey mews developments incorporating apartments will be acceptable, where the proposed mews building is subordinate in height and scale to the main building, where there is sufficient depth between the main building and the proposed mews building to ensure privacy, where an acceptable level of open space is provided and where the laneway is suitable for the resulting traffic conditions and where the apartment units are of sufficient size to provide for a high quality residential environment. This is in line with national policy to promote increased residential densities in proximity to the city centre.

d) Mews buildings may be permitted in the form of terraces, but flat blocks are not generally considered suitable in mews laneway locations.

e) New buildings should complement the character of both the mews lane and main building with regard to scale, massing, height, building depth, roof treatment and materials. The design of such proposals should represent an innovative architectural response to the site and should be informed by established building lines and plot width. Depending on the context of the location, mews buildings may be required to incorporate gable-ended pitched roofs.

f) The amalgamation or subdivision of plots on mews lanes will generally not be encouraged. The provision of rear access to the main frontage premises shall be sought where possible.

g) All parking provision in mews lanes will be in off-street garages, forecourts or courtyards. One off-street car space should be provided for each mews building, subject to conservation and access criteria.

h) New mews development should not inhibit vehicular access to car parking space at the rear for the benefit of the main frontage premises, where this space exists at present. This provision will not apply where the objective to eliminate existing unauthorised and excessive off-street car parking is being sought.

i) Potential mews laneways must have a minimum carriageway of 4.8 m in width (5.5 m where no verges or footpaths are provided). All mews lanes will be considered to be shared surfaces, and footpaths need not necessarily be provided.

j) Private open space shall be provided to the rear of the mews building and shall be landscaped so as to provide for a quality residential environment. The depth of this open space for the full width of the site will not generally be less than 7.5 m unless it is demonstrably impractical to achieve and shall not be obstructed by off-street parking. Where the 7.5 m standard is provided, the 10 sq.m of private open space per bedspace standard may be relaxed.

k) If the main house is in multiple occupancy, the amount of private open space remaining after the subdivision of the garden for a mews development shall meet both the private open space requirements for multiple dwellings and for mews development.

l) The distance between the opposing windows of mews dwellings and of the main houses shall be generally a minimum of 22 m. This requirement may be relaxed due to site constraints. In such cases, innovative and high quality design will be required to ensure privacy and to provide an adequate setting, including amenity space, for both the main building and the mews dwelling