In Porterstown, a proposal to demolish a 19th-century cottage fuels worries about the erosion of the village’s character

The sun-yellow window frames are likely the first feature that a person passing Keane’s cottage would notice.

The cottage, on the Porterstown Road just north of the Royal Canal in Porterstown, neighbours a derelict old school house.

The windows show how the arcane British tax on windows influenced the design of housing in the first half of the 19th century, says Christine Moore of the Clonsilla and Porterstown Heritage Society.

The size, not the colour. The first-floor windows are smaller than those below. “The windows were kept small to minimise the window tax,” she says.

Moore says that historical curiosities like these should mean that the building is preserved, that these are the details that make the neighbourhood what it is.

But the cottage isn’t on the Record of Protected Structures.

And, since 6 September, a planning notice outside tells locals that J&C Porterstown Road Development Limited is seeking permission to demolish it and build 82 apartments and 8 houses.

The future shape of Clonsilla and Porterstown is a live issue, as developers file plans for large apartment complexes and much-needed housing, while residents and councillors ask for recognition for heritage and for building to be guided by a local area plan.

The few historic buildings that have managed to survive around Clonsilla help to create the area’s special character, says independent Councillor Tania Doyle.

“There is a sense of history to them that they have stood for so long with some having specific associations with significant events or personalities of the past,” she says.

Labour Councillor John Walsh says the cottage is local heritage. “Demolishing it would be cultural vandalism,” he says.

A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said they are unable to comment on active planning applications.

Window into the past

Built in the 19th century, Keane’s cottage got its name from the family who owned it back when it was built.

It’s a bit unclear, but the building may have been recorded as early as 1816 in John Taylor’s map of the environs of Dublin, says Moore. “There is a structure very likely shown on it that is the size you would expect.”

Its name first crops up during 1847 in Griffith’s Valuation, the first full-scale valuation of property ownership in Ireland.

It was owned by one Patrick Kane, or Pat Keane, a landlord, records show.

Keane’s cottage was owned by the family until about a decade ago, Moore says. “That was when the last Keane passed away.”

The smaller windows on the first floor are what make it deserving of protection, she says, as it was indicative of how the 1799 window tax influenced the architecture of that period.

Her argument, however, has struggled to gain recognition.

Clonsilla’s 2008 Urban Centre Strategy didn’t mention the cottage as of heritage interest.

That was highlighted by Bartra Property (Porterstown) Limited in 2021 when it applied to the council to demolish the cottage and build a five-storey apartment block.

An architectural report, prepared by Paul Keogh Architects, said its original “long house” design had been changed already through ad-hoc alterations and extensions.

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage identified it as a building of interest in 2005, but it wasn’t a protected structure, the consultants report said.

In November 2022, Fingal County Council reviewed its protected structures, and looked again at the cottage.

The cottage had undergone alterations over time but the interior wasn’t of special interest, the review said. It was a piece of vernacular heritage, it said.

In other words, one built by “ordinary” people, using methods of construction passed down within families or communities, like thatched roofs.

Locally it holds value because many of the traditional materials and craft skills used in the cottage’s construction are no longer common, says Doyle, the independent councillor. “So they give us an insight into the construction methods of the past.”

Fingal County Council’s development plan 2023 to 2029 encourages the “viable re-use” of historic vernacular dwellings, it says.

Bartra’s application in 2021 was rejected – but for reasons including scale, and impact on biodiversity and visual amenities in the area, shows a council report. An Bord Pleanála also refused permission on appeal.

Walsh, the Labour councillor, says it was going to impact on the canal, which is a protected structure. “And it took no account of the need for connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Local vernacular

While An Bord Pleanála refused the project, the planning report did reflect a bit on the fate of the cottage.

Planning inspector Robert Speer said that while losing the cottage would be regrettable, the developer had made a reasonable case to demolish it.

The cottage made a positive contribution to the wider architectural landscape, Speer wrote.

Its retention would be desirable from a built-heritage perspective but, he said, it wasn’t deemed to be of sufficient merit to warrant inclusion in the Record of Protected Structures.

Planning consultants for J&C Porterstown Road Development Ltd have used similar arguments to Bartra, in favour of demolition.

The September planning application says that the proposed development would mean removing the historic building.

But, it says, “the subject proposal is in keeping with the emerging urbanisation in the surrounding area where transport links and nearby facilities have contributed to a high demand for residential development”.

A spokesperson for J&C Porterstown Road Development Ltd did not respond when asked why it was not going to be retaining any of the existing structure.

Walsh, the Labour councillor, says that Clonsilla and Porterstown is awash with new developments. “We absolutely need new housing, but new housing has to be provided in an appropriate way.”

On 23 September, Fingal County Council approved an application for 170 new apartments on Weaver’s Row next to the Clonsilla Inn.

The character of Clonsilla as a suburban village is fundamentally changing, Walsh says.

The council needs to complete its local area plan for the wider Clonsilla area, as well as its promised masterplan for the old school house site, he says. “That’s urgently needed.”

Work on the village framework plan has started, he says, but the draft plan has yet to be released. “So I think a development of this kind is premature.”

A council spokesperson said that they are currently working on the draft Clonsilla Framework Plan, and aiming to run the next stage of public consultation in late autumn.