The Chinese Gospel Church of Dublin Trust is seeking permission to restore and repurpose the protected Esker House
Plans lodged to turn Lucan’s Esker House into retreat centre
THE Chinese Gospel Church of Dublin Trust have applied for planning permission to allow the change of use and conversion of an existing two-storey house in Lucan.
The Trust first bought Esker House in 2010 and is now seeking to covert the protected structure into a retreat centre with ancillary accommodation.
Essential repairs to the building will be undertaken to treat several existing issues within the 18th Century House, including woodworm, wet rot and damp.
Refurbishment of the roof timbers, valley gutters, rainwater goods and staircase will be undertaken, while new heating and electrical services will be installed.
A new partition and door-set will also be introduced to provide a minor hall and a pastoral office within the old study and complete redecoration of the internal rooms.
In 2012, the first stage of refurbishment was complete, providing new contemporary buildings, including a new auditorium, secondary hall and ancillary accommodation.
The on-site stables were also redeveloped into classrooms and workshops and in 2021, the annexe to the main house was turned into a creche.
According to the application cover letter, the redevelopment of Esker House will “ensure that the central role of the dominant Esker House will support its Protected Status and survival.”
The House sits on 2.76 acres and was placed on the market through joint agents McDonald Brothers Real Estate Alliance and Newcombe Estates in 2010, with an asking price of €900,000.
A separate landholding of 6.7 acres located across the footbridge beside Esker cemetery was also listed by the estate agents for €700,000, bringing the total asking price for the site to €1.6 million.
The listing also detailed the several rooms that the House held, including a sittingroom and a diningroom with marble fireplaces and sash windows
A large study with wood-panelled walls and a dated kitchen were located off the inner hall and on the far side of the kitchen was a second, smaller entrance into the house.
A large room off the study allowed access to an unfinished annex which measured 29sq m and included a bathroom, sittingroom and bedroom.
The upstairs was once home to four large double bedrooms which looked over a former walled garden.
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