A Dublin family who installed a bike storage unit in the front garden of their house has now been ordered to remove it after losing an appeal following an earlier decision in the case. It is the second such case to emerge publicly in Clontarf, where another family was forced to remove a shed-like bike storage unit.
An Bord Pleanála has refused an application from the family to retain its bike storage box in the front garden of their home, despite an inspector recommending it should be retained. However, An Bord Pleanála rejected their inspector's recommendation and concluded the bike storage unit - which the family had planned to conceal with foliage - would be “detrimental to the setting of the protected structure” on St Lawrence Rd, a coveted address in the middle class suburb.
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It added the retention of the bike storage unit - a green dome-shaped structure on a concrete base - would "constitute a visually discordant feature that would be detrimental to the setting of the protected structure as well as to the amenity of adjoining protected structures and the local streetscape."
“The development proposed for retention would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," An Bord Pleanála said.
It emerged in April, 2022, the bike storage unit was at the centre of a planning dispute after a complaint was made. Dublin City Council effectively ruled against the family involved, saying they could keep the unit in their garden. The council said in 2022 it was out of step with the character of the listed houses on St Lawrence Rd.
On foot of a complaint about the unit, the council ruled the unit would cause “serious injury” to the street, of mostly listed houses. It also said the unit was “unsympathetic” in appearance and added “visual clutter” to the street.
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However, the family at the centre of the case said at the time it was appealing to An Bord Pleanála in the hope they can keep the storage unit. They added they had no idea they would need planning permission, saying they always planned to plant around the unit to obscure it, as they have already done with their wheelie bins.
Vanessa Pearse, who installed the storage unit in her front garden, said in 2022 Dublin City Council was engaged in a major push to promote cycling, with a two-way segregated cycleway also being installed from Clontarf into the city centre in a bid to encourage cycling.
However, while those efforts were underway, she questioned where people were supposed to store their bikes if they were not allowed by the council to keep them in storage units in their gardens.
Ms Pearse said four people in her house had bikes, which they brought through their terraced home and kept in a downstairs back room. The “dark lane”, into a rear entrance of the property, was unlit. Bikes had also been stolen from the garage at the back of the house, making the storage unit at the front a more attractive option, on safety and convenience grounds.
Ms Pearse said it “never dawned” on her that planning permission would be required. She said there were a large number of storage units, used by people to store their wheelie bins, outside houses in the area, including on her road of listed properties. Those units were not much smaller than her bike unit.
When she applied to the council for “retention” of the bike storage unit, the council ruled against the family, even though landscaping plans were contained in their application. Ms Pearse added if the family lost their appeal to An Bord Pleanála they would be forced to remove the unit. She has said this week she was no surprised by the decision, adding she expected An Bord Pleanála to rule against her.
