boyle local area plan 2012 - 2018 - Roscommon County Council

PART II: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR 2012 – 2018 & BEYOND Chapter 6: Built & Natural Heritage
6.1 BUILT HERITAGE
CHAPTER 6:
BUILT & NATURAL HERITAGE
The quality of the environment is an important factor in determining where people
choose to live and in attracting investment into the town. The Council will seek to
preserve the built environment and its layout characteristics by encouraging
recognition of the heritage value of the urban context and a high standard of design
for new development proposals. Developers will be required to explain the reasoning
behind a particular design solution on important or sensitive sites. (See appended
Maps 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 7, & 8)
planning permission; they are also obliged to prevent the structures becoming
endangered. The DOEHLG’s Architectural Heritage Protection - Guidelines for
Planning Authorities (2004) and subsequent individual guidance documents
(available to download for free on www.environ.ie) are a useful source of
information.
Under Section 19(c) of the current RCC Scheme of Development Contributions
(2008) restoration / refurbishment (to a high architectural standard) of protected
structures receives a 100% exemption from development contribution fees. RCC will
also consider a change of use of a protected structure to a use compatible with the
conservation of the building. Grants, administered by the Council and other bodies,
are also available for conservation works to protected structures.
6.1.1 Architectural Heritage
Our built heritage is a unique resource, an irreplaceable expression of the richness and
diversity of our past and of the generations who have gone before us. Structures and
places have over time acquired character and ‘special interest’ through their continued
existence and familiarity. The built heritage of County Roscommon includes not only
works of great artistic and structural achievement but also everyday items; it includes
all types of manmade structures and features of the landscape - houses, bridges,
towns, demesnes, kerbing and stone walls. It is a non-renewable resource, once lost it
cannot be replaced, so it is important that we appreciate what we have and provide
adequate protection for it. Awareness of the social and economic benefits of
conserving this part of our common inheritance, and of the place of conservation in
policies of sustainable development, has gathered increased recognition in recent
years. The Boyle LAP seeks to protect the built, archaeological and natural heritage
of the town and the conservation of existing structures of heritage value or the
replacement of buildings where appropriate.
1. Buildings of particular significance and Protected Structures
Protected structures and proposed protected structures are structures which are of
special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or
technical interest. They are subject to a high level of protection, which extends to
their exteriors and interiors and to any structures within their curtilage. All works to
them should follow best practice guidance and their owners and occupiers are
required to consult with the local authority to determine which works require
Photo 31: Boyle Abbey Photo 32: Abbeytown Bridge
(Source: NIAH)
The two oldest structures in Boyle are located very close together, the very fine
Boyle Abbey and Abbeytown Bridge. The abbey was founded as a Cistercian
Monastery in the 12th century under the patronage of the local ruling family, the
MacDermott; during the 17th and 18th centuries it was used to accommodate a
military garrison. Boyle Abbey is one of the best preserved structures of its type in
Ireland and is a popular visitor attraction. Its restored 16 th /17 th gatehouse is often
utilised to house an exhibition. Both the abbey and the bridge display the shift in
style from the round Romanesque arch to the more pointed Gothic arch. The Abbey
is now a national monument in state care and is undergoing conservation works to its
north arcade.
Another of the most significant sites in Boyle, and also of National importance, is
King House. This Palladian mansion from c.1730, later used as a barracks when the
King family moved to Rockingham in 1788, was restored by RCC from 1989. Today
it is an important tourist attraction, accommodating exhibitions focusing on the
Boyle Local Area Plan 2012-2018 Page 57