# Planning Free Extension Size



## Lex Foutish (23 Jan 2010)

Thinking of doing a ground floor extension to rear of house. Won't be visible from anywhere except back garden. How far can we go out without having to go for planning permission or is it just a certain square footage?


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## onq (23 Jan 2010)

There are a lot of issues to consider Lex.

As far as I know this still covers it:-

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/si/0600.html

Look at SS 6, 9, 10, 82 and Schedule II Class I

This is general advice, remote from the action and where the cull facts are not known. It may be of limited relevance. In all cases, you should retain the services of a competent professional to advise you and/or check with the relevant department in your your local authority

HTH

ONQ

[broken link removed]

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SCHEDULE 2

Article 6

Part 1

Exempted Development — General

Development within the curtilage of a house

Column 1

Description of Development

CLASS 1

The extension of a house, by the construction or erection of an extension (including a conservatory) to the rear of the house or by the conversion for use as part of the house of any garage, store, shed or other similar structure attached to the rear or to the side of the house.


Column 2

1. (a) Where the house has not been extended previously, the floor area of any such extension shall not exceed 40 square metres.

(b) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is terraced or semi-detached, the floor area of any extension above ground level shall not exceed 12 square metres.

(c) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is detached, the floor area of any extension above ground level shall not exceed 20 square metres.

2. (a) Where the house has been extended previously, the floor area of any such extension, taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 40 square metres.

(b) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is terraced or semi-detached and has been extended previously, the floor area of any extension above ground level taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions above ground level constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 12 square metres.

(c) Subject to paragraph (a), where the house is detached and has been extended previously, the floor area of any extension above ground level, taken together with the floor area of any previous extension or extensions above ground level constructed or erected after 1 October 1964, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, shall not exceed 20 square metres.

3. Any above ground floor extension shall be a distance of not less than 2 metres from any party boundary.

4. (a) Where the rear wall of the house does not include a gable, the height of the walls of any such extension shall not exceed the height of the rear wall of the house.

(b) Where the rear wall of the house includes a gable, the height of the walls of any such extension shall not exceed the height of the side walls of the house.

(c) The height of the highest part of the roof of any such extension shall not exceed, in the case of a flat roofed extension, the height of the eaves or parapet, as may be appropriate, or, in any other case, shall not exceed the height of the highest part of the roof of the dwelling.

5. The construction or erection of any such extension to the rear of the house shall not reduce the area of private open space, reserved exclusively for the use of the occupants of the house, to the rear of the house to less than 25 square metres.

6. (a) Any window proposed at ground level in any such extension shall not be less than 1 metre from the boundary it faces.

(b) Any window proposed above ground level in any such extension shall not be less than 11 metres from the boundary it faces.

(c) Where the house is detached and the floor area of the extension above ground level exceeds 12 square metres, any window proposed at above ground level shall not be less than 11 metres from the boundary it faces.

7. The roof of any extension shall not be used as a balcony or roof garden.
Conditions and Limitations


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## Lex Foutish (23 Jan 2010)

Very helpful, as always, onq. Thanks.


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## onq (24 Jan 2010)

You're very welcome Lex, however...

Merely quoting this to you isn't necessarily giving you the information you require.

For example, all of your extension has to be behind your front façade when looked at from the front of the building.
If you're extending on from an existing single storey rear return, your eaves height must match - you cannot add a flat roofed extensiton to a pitched roof extension with the same internal ceiling height, assumign no false ceilings because the flat roof eaves will be higher.
No exempted development applies to a protected structure.
And so on.

Answering a simple question like this can be a minefield.



ONQ

[broken link removed]


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## jdob123 (25 Jan 2010)

Hi all,

I am thinking of adding an exempt extension to the rear of my house. When talking about a maximum of 40 sq.m. in size, does that just include the actual floor space or also the external walls?

Thanks!


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## onq (25 Jan 2010)

jdob123 is this a doube post?

Didn't picorette answer this somewhere else?

ONQ.


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## DBK100 (25 Jan 2010)

ONQ's comment that "Answering a simple question like this can be a minefield", is spot on and his preface note on taking professional advice from a competent person who has inspected the actual subject site is very important.

Each property has the potential to have its own unique characteristics and planning history which could affect 'Exempted Development' allowances.

One very important point is whether the house is a *Protected Structure*. If it is (and you can check in your area's Development Plan) any extension will require planning permission.
Please also be aware that an Exemption from the requirement to apply for planning permission does not exempt you from the Building Regulations or from any matters arising under normal Civil Law such as trespass or damage.
You cannot for example build onto a neighbour's side of a Party Wall, remove a section of Party Wall to facilitate your extension, or overhang any element of your extension (including gutters etc.) on to your neighbour's property without their permission. Party walls are notorious for bitter disputes. It would be wise to seek any permission in writing.

I have had experience of a few cases where unforeseen complications have impeded a proposed extension that could easily have been initially thought to be exempt under the regs.

In one instance, every criteria for exemption was met yet through a search we discovered that the drain running behind the terrace of houses, at a depth of 9 feet, was not a jointly owned private drain, but in fact a publicly owned sewer. The local authority does not permit building within a minimum of 3m of the sewer and the rear of the existing house was only fractionally more than this from it. Building any extension was not possible.

Another instance involved an owner who had a rear extension designed for them by a third party to meet the relevant exemption criteria. The house was on a sharply sloping site that fell away to the rear. The proposed work was at the entrance 'ground' level but was at a significant height above ground level at the rear (storage space was located below).
A neighbour contacted Enforcement in the Council and we were called by the owners after their building work was halted. The Enforcement Officer correctly deemed the extension to be above ground level. We were asked to prepare and submit a retention application and the owner suffered protracted delays, additional costs and considerable pressure in the mean time.

In general, if you have any doubt at all about the Exemption Provisions:

-Consult a competent person who will stand over their advice and who carries professional indemnity insurance.
-Don't make any assumptions.
-Seek a 'Declaration of Exemption' for your proposed scheme from the Planning Authority if in any doubt.
-Or just lodge a Planning Application.  If you have engaged someone to design it, then preparing the application should not cost significantly more. The time delay while the application is being considered can be utilised to prepare tender and construction drawings and a specification. It will also potentially give you the time to seek tenders from builders and negotiate  a price. You could then be ready to commence on site shortly after a final grant of permission.

DBK100 - MESH Architects


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## onq (25 Jan 2010)

DBK100 said:


> <snip>
> 
> -*Or just lodge a Planning Application*.  If you have engaged someone to design it, then preparing the application should not cost significantly more. The time delay while the application is being considered can be utilised to prepare tender and construction drawings and a specification. It will also potentially give you the time to seek tenders from builders and negotiate  a price. You could then be ready to commence on site shortly after a final grant of permission.
> 
> DBK100 - MESH Architects



Isn't that just the best piece of advice! 

[My *bold*]

People forget the considerable amount of time preparing tender drawings and specification can take, including seeking cost-effective alternatives these days, because while the costs of builder's work has dropped somewhat, the costs of materials hasn't dropped by as much. Okay, you could be appealed, but if you've done your groundwork with your neighbours and on pre-planning this should minimise the likelihood  and the beauty of it is there's no sense of apprehension attached to the work. You know you have permission to build.

But the real benefit of thsi advice is that you won't get tripped up over planning issues. The following happened on one job - a catalogue of unforced errors where there was no malicious intent and where you couldn't even allege gross negligence had occurred, given the issues involved, but it still cost my client a lot of time and money and personal aggravation - all of which could have been avoided had the client sought permission for all the changes to the house in the first place.

I understand that the first error occurred because the decision to avail of the exempted development regulations on one part of the house was not followed through in a timely manner. Work was stopped for some reason on the "exempted" section and another separate section to the front of the house was completed as part of the permission originally sought. The work on this permitted section was so extensive that the remainder of the floor area was not sufficient to allow the "exempted" section to be completed without requiring retention permission. If the work sections had been executed in the original order of "exempted" first and then "permitted" afterwards the issue would not have arisen.

I understand that the second error occurred because a flat roof rear extension with raised ceiling and parapet was built onto a two storey dormer bungalow rear return. The flat roofed extension was significantly less visually obtrusive than a continuation of the dormer bungalow roof would have been. However because the "eaves" (a parapet) was higher than existing it was deemed to require permission. If the raised ceiling had been pushed through to create an eaves overhang the eaves would still have been higher than existing. Even if the ceiling had matched the original it would have been higher than existing although less so, because the slope of the roof and extension of the roof joists "push" the eaves boxing below ceiling level.

There were probably one or two options for designing the way out of it while the contractor was on site but all parties initially thought there was no issue except the neighbours. It was only after the planners looked at it minutely a second time that the transgression against the letter of the law was seen for what it was. With a planning permission for the entire development none of these issues would have become a problem.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]


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