# Renewal of FPP Offaly?



## dragonl (5 Jun 2011)

We bought a site in 2007 with outlying pp. We got full pp but the sale of our home fell through and we haven't built. Fpp expires early next year. It is not worth selling at the moment. Is there any way to extend/renew planning permission to retain some value or to retain planning status for the kids in later years?
Thanks in advance.


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## onq (6 Jun 2011)

dragonl,

Use it or lose it is the motto you have to bear in mind with Planning Permissions.
You have five years to build from the Date of Grant of Permission.

You used to be able to apply for this to be extended within the final  year of the permission, i.e. not AFTER the expiration date.
Originally this was limited to houses that were "substantially complete", ie up to wall plate level/ at the eaves.

The minister introduced new regulations following on the collapse of the  housing market and the link has been posted on AAM previously.
I had heard that these regulations were originally intended for  developers and estates IIRC, but I don't see how single houses could be  excluded.

Anyway the BIll came in in 2009 and became 

The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010

This is a link to the PDF File of the Act

It is originally linked to on this page on the DOEHLG Website which gives an overview of planning legislation.
Sections 28 and 29, Pages 51 et sequitur, Amending Sections 42 and also  42A (inserted by Section 238 of the National Asset Management Act 2009)  the Appears to refer.

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Other sections of the  original Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are also  affected and any application would have to be correctly worded to avail  of the Act's provisions.
I strongly advise that you retain an architect with planning competence to investigate what is needed and make the application for you  as any new law usually has a few speed bumps built-in.
The problem isn't that you wouldn't have a clue, its that the officials  in the Planning Department mightn't know the new law very well and trip  both your goodself and themselves up without meaning to.

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I remember when the new provisions for making planning applications came  in.
After March 2002 something like 70% of applications were getting refused in Dublin City because of the  nit-picking attitude of some planning officers.
Applications were getting taken in by officials after a cursory review at the  planning counter only to be returned three weeks later by post because  of relatively minor matters picked up on by the Planning Officer.

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Some were utterly incongruous. For example - The North Sign fiasco.  Ordnance Survey Maps didn't have a North Sign at the time.
They didn't  need one, since everyone knew that the convention with those maps was  that North was to the top when you were looking at them and the writing  was "normal".
But because the Act specified that all plans had to have a North Sign on  them, Ordnance Survey Maps without a North Sign were being refused as  part of an Invalid Application. 

I even heard that some punctilious  Planners used to look for North Signs on Elevations and Sections!

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I  was one of those that pressured the Ordnance Survey and the Minister to  put North Signs on the Maps. 
You'd be surprised how many conversations and complaints this led to! 
They have nice little arrows now. 

But this illustrates why its wise to engage an architect to make the application on your behalf.

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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## dragonl (7 Jun 2011)

thanks onq for a very thorough response (although I was hoping for something more positive! aren't we all!)

Spending more money on this site is not an option at the moment.
So, I can only hope that in time (10 years or so) planning in the area will consider previous history of this site.
at least I know.
thanks again.


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## onq (7 Jun 2011)

I'm afraid I don't see where you're coming from.
How positive a response were you expecting dragonl?
Previous to this 2010 Act, unless the house was substantially complete prior to the expiration of the Grant period of five years, the permission lapsed and you were then faced with either 

a) completing and seeking retention after the fact or 
b) trying to sll a site with a half-finished house - or nothing on it at all - without permission.

Only if the house was complete could you seek - within the final year IIRC - an extension of time of the original Grant sufficient to allow the final completion of the house.
Now you can effectively "sit on it" for up to five years without having to build it substantially.

Personally I think it is something Gormley is to be praised for that occurred during his tenure as Environment Minister.
This limited the economic fallout from the recession by preserving the planning permission and the economic entity it created for an extended period.
The fact that a main beneficiary was NAMA is neither here nor there - you get to benefit too.

So off you go and find someone to address this - you lucky thing. 
But remember, it needs to be done BEFORE the Grant Expires, if I have read the legislation correctly.

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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