# submission on a planning application



## triciamonty (5 May 2010)

is the time limit is 5 weeks for submissions on a p.a to the council strictly enforced?  if so can letters of support be addressed to the applicant who then adds this to her file...the reason im asking is a relative has applied for p.a on her own land,nothing major just a 4 bedroom house with garage.while all the neighbours wished her well ,1 f???er has decided to lob in an objection.he waited till the last day of the  5 weeks to do this .everyone else is disgusted to say the least,but they would like to show their support .this is why im asking the above question...thanks for any replies


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## tester1 (5 May 2010)

Yes it is enforced.... We had the same problem, a neighbour kept objecting at the last minute ...... you could try sending in letter. It wont be added to file but planner may see it on the off chance...


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## onq (5 May 2010)

The time limit for submission of Observations is five weeks from the date of lodgement and is strictly enforced.
The local authority cannot accept submissions after the five weeks have elapsed, not even from the applicant in defence of her position.

I found out this the hard way back in 2003 when a local Community Group objected to a retention as a matter of principle.
Imagine how well that went down. me having successfully persuaded the client to do the right thing, negotiated with the local authority, who were very happy with the relatively minor revisions to a large private residence only for us to be seriously embarrassed by these geniuses.
The letter I wrote would have had their collective ears burning for week afterwards, had they received it, but it was returned have been a day late due to a late submission of the observation by the third party, as in your case.

Planners won't even discuss the matter with you if its during the 8-week application period, so just wait and see what transpires - you may be worried for nothing.
However the Observation paves the way for an Appeal by the same person  who lodged it.
Normally only the applicant or a person who submits a valid Observation  can lodge an Appeal [there are one or two other very limited  circumstances]

There are three possible outcomes

The planners may form a similar opinion to yours and issue a decision to grant permission and the objector may appeal this.
The planner may decide to issue a Further Information Request which must be answered within six months.
The planner may issue a decision refuse permission and the applicant may appeal this.

A valid appeal must be lodged within 4 weeks of the decision to grant and persons may submit Observations ON THE APPEAL in support of the applicant.
You should definitely check with the local authority, but it might be possible to include a list of signatories as part of the F.I. Request response.
You can include a signatories list with any appeal by the applicant.

Most Council websites give good guidance on the planning process.
For more information on Appeals check out the An Bórd Pleanála website at  www.pleanala.ie


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon             as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal     action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in             Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the     matters    at      hand.


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## triciamonty (6 May 2010)

thanks for replies,makes very interesting reading


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## onq (6 May 2010)

You're very welcome and I hope its of some use, but do engage with the local authority reardless.
Most public servants, unless they're working to rule and not answering phones, are very helpful.
If you're stuck for a bit of light reading you could always read the Self Build FAQ:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=126261



ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon              as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal      action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in              Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the      matters    at      hand.


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## triciamonty (16 Dec 2010)

anyway ,the application was passed by council ,senior planning officer and county manager visiting site making some recommendations on application and passing it. however the p//ck who objected to it ,went to bord pleanala and it was  turned down...deemed too high so visually obtrusive  (dormer )..despite the fact that directly opposite it ,there are 2 storey houses  including the objectors whose house is the highest here(not to mention  his bending of certain building laws). are bord pleanala consistent with their decisions or just plain blind?


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## threebedsemi (16 Dec 2010)

Up to about 5 years ago, I always found the Bord to be dependable to make the 'right' decision, or at least a sensible one. However, lately I find it virtually impossible to guess how they will decide on any application, they often pick up and refuse permissions on things that were not even referred to in their inspectors report.
The inspectors reports are still generally sensible as far as I have seen, but of course there is no obligation on the Bord members to be guided by the recommendations of their inspector.


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## onq (17 Dec 2010)

+1 What 3bedsemi has posted.

You could apply again, addressing the points they raised in order to establish your primary permission.

If you're successful you could seek a revision later for the dormers.

You could leave the roof structure prepared to receive them.

So it would look like a plain roof, but the structural opes for dormers could be left in place, with slates over them on battens on roofing felt on on "filler" roof joists.

There is a risk with this - you're doing additional work for something for which you may not get permission - so you're costs go up overall.

Also it could be abortive work if you had to move the dormers as part of any condition or agreement.

Its either that or incur additional expense at a later stage.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon               as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal       action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in               Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the       matters    at      hand.


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## triciamonty (17 Dec 2010)

thanks again for replying again everyone, yep understand what you are saying..at this point i think the plan is to go ahead for a bungalow ,roughly reducing height overall by about 3- 4 foot. more landscaping (it will be a rain forest surely)also getting a panoramic photo done and super imposing house type on it. this will show industrial buildings ,agricultural buildings and other houses in close proximity.this will be addressing b.p points.


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## onq (17 Dec 2010)

Reduce the height too much and you may not have the head height for a later compliant conversion.

Still, once you get the first permission you could go for revision to external elevations to raise the roof.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon                as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal        action    be      taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in                Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the        matters    at      hand.


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