Planning Retention

cunninghams

Registered User
Messages
104
I am starting to build my house in the next few weeks. It is a 3-bed bungalow and i have full planning permission since 2004. However i now am having 2nd thoughts on the design and wish to put 2 rooms upstairs-the roof shall be higher and i intend to put velux windows in the back of the house.My plan is to build the house and look for retention on the higher roof after it is built. Can anybody advise me on this course of action-I think i am well within my rights??
 
You might not get retention - its not a given.
In which case it all comes down - unless you are a minister of course
 
I heard also there's some new directive?? coming from Europe which will limit retrospective planning. It could be a big headache later.
 
The fee for retention is 3times that for a "normal" application and as said there are no guarantees - although less than 2% of council investigations into unauthorised developments result in prosecutions and convictions (according to last Sunday's Times) and from my own personal experience I would see no reason to disagree with that figure.
 
EU have wanted to get rid of the retrospective permission system for quite some time, they're now threatening Ireland with legal action to enforce the relevant directive. So, well within your rights or not, this doesn't seem like a wise course of action.
 
Well, I received planning permission before the fees came in my county-fees are currently 4000 euro. If i re-apply for permission i will have to pay this fee plus go through the whole process again, costing me another few months of time. Why is retention planning in existence at all if it cannot be used? The changes i intend making will take into account the county council planning think-tank in that my house will have no dormer windows at all and only velux windows to the back-there will be no side windows at the sides and there is only fields to the back.i.e the only real change will be that the roof will be higher and i intend applying for retention on this when the house is built. What were your suggestions other than the route i am thinking of taking?

? said:
Why would you not apply for permission first?
 
cunninghams said:
Well, I received planning permission before the fees came in my county-fees are currently 4000 euro. If i re-apply for permission i will have to pay this fee

Fees in respect of a domestic planning application (retention or otherwise)would never be near €4000- you are misinformed.
 
if the Veluxes are high and cause an invasion of a neighbours privacy you may never get a chance to get retention or if

1. Neighbour requests enforcement
2. The lazy and incompetent (uniformly in my experience) planners actually get off their arses and enforce .
 
The fees i am referring to are not application fees, the figure is actually €3800 to be paid when planning permission is granted-fee is for water charges etc, i believe the fees are as high as 20,000 in Kildare and Fingal Co. Co. In my county the Fees only came in March 2004 and I have planning pre this date and therefore would have been exempt
Carpenter said:
Fees in respect of a domestic planning application (retention or otherwise)would never be near €4000- you are misinformed.
 

OK, but why would you be levied such fees when you already have permission for a dwelling on the site, you have permission for connection to existing services and the alterations you propose will not put an extra burden on those services? You could request a meeting with a planner to discuss your anxiety regarding fees that may be levied.
 
You are correct, i checked with the council-they initially told me i would have to go through the whole process again-however as you said this does not include having to pay the fees-thanks for your input-I think i will reapply as oppossed to chancing my arm with retention
 

It's the best route in the long term- retention is never guaranteed and you could jeopardise the title to the property by making unauthorised alterations to the it.