House Building Final Grant Of Planning Permission

House Building Final Grant Of Planning Permission

If you intend to develop your land in some way, before construction or development actually begins, you will need obtain planning permission, unless you are certain that your proposed development is exempted.

The timescale for obtaining planning permission from local authorities in Ireland can vary widely, depending on how involved the proposed development is and how well prepared the applicant is to respond to the issues that will raised by the members of the local planning board.

The first stage of the planning permission process takes four weeks.

After the receipt of application for planning permission, the local planning authority will spend time checking that the application is valid and then they will acknowledge receipt of the valid application in writing.

The local planning authority will then refer the proposed development to other planning related bodies, such as the Department of the Environment, Roads Department, An Taise or the Health Board.

The next step is for the local planning authority to send an inspector to the site of the proposed development to check the details of the application.

The local planning authority will deal with any submissions or objections received from 3rd parties that believe they may be affected by the proposed development.

The planning authority may take up to another four weeks to reach a decision or to request further information from the applicant. The applicant has up to six weeks to respond in full and when any further information requested is supplied the local planning authority has a further four weeks to make a decision.

If the local planning authority approves your application, they will first issue a notification of grant of planning permission. This document may often refer to various conditions and modifications relating to the original planning permission application.

After a period of "4 weeks, 3 days and as soon as may be", the local planning authority will issue the final grant of permission. The local planning authority will only issue the final grant of permission if no appeal regarding the proposed development has been received by An Bord Planala.

In many cases, the local planning authority may request further information from the developer various aspects of the proposed development. The applicant has up to a maximum period of six months to provide these details, otherwise the local planning authority will treat the application as having been withdrawn.

This process may be repeated if the applicant does not answer some or all of the issues raised to the satisfaction of the local planning authority.

The applicant may be refused permission to proceed with development if the local planning authority decides that the proposed development fails to comply with current planning regulations.

If planning permission is refused, the local planning authority will details the grounds for failure to issue a grant of planning permission. The applicant, provided the initial application was deemed valid by the local planning authority, then has up to four weeks to appeal the decision to An Bord Planala.

The local planning authority may grant planning permission subject to certain conditions which must be met before you can commence development. It's the responsibility of the developer to ensure that these conditions are met before work commences in the proposed development. The applicant will then have to complete a notice to commence work and forward it to the local planning authority, with the relevant fee, no more than 28 days and less than 14 days before development is started.

In effect then, an applicant can only commence actual construction or development work on the development after the final grant of permission is received and after the local planning authority acknowledges receipt of the commencement of work notice.

The planning and development acts allow an local planning authority to require a contribution from the developer to be paid in respect of public infrastructure and facilities. These public structures may not necessarily be immediately connected with the proposed development that planning permission has been applied for.

The developer may be required, by the local planning authority, to make payment in respect of the provision and maintenance of open spaces, parks and walkways, road and water systems.

These charges are generally applied to larger scale developments and may not normally apply to single private dwelling home developments. However, if you use an experienced planning agent to oversee your application for planning permission, they may well be able to provide you with a better estimate of the total costs involved in your planning permission application.

This article is intended as a general, basic guide to planning process of local authorities in Ireland. For more specific details and the latest regulations concerning planning, please consult the website of your local authority.