Hi
I hope someone can help. My brother is trying to get planning permission to build a house near my mother and has been battling with the planning office for the past year. He has done all the changes requested of him and now the latest is a request to change the roof of the house which was not pointed out to him at the start. He is at his wits end and does not know where to turn. Has anyone else experienced such difficulty? Other people in the area appear to get planning without any probs and he needs to build at home for family reasons.
Mangos
Sounds like Meath Co Co. or Wicklow Co Co to me.
Both are legendary.
But what are you asking the denizens of AAM to help you with.
Apart from commiserate we cannot advise you on thsi specific application - we have no details.
Without being directly involved enough to understand the issues as the planner sees them we're extremely limited in how we can help.
It sounds like your brother has tried to design and present the new house by himself and this can be an uphill battle, which allied to an inexperienced planner can prove to be impossible to win.
Now I don't know your brother and this planner, I'm only guessing - just as I'm guessing he's a self-builder in the making and he isn't interested in spending money on professionals like architects and engineers.
If my guesses are correct and your brother doesn't follow the advice given above by threebedsemi - who gives good advice, BTW - I foresee a whole endless and frustrating process ahead for your brother.
Allow me therefore to second that advice and strongly suggest that your brother retains the services of a good architect to advise him.
By this I do not mean that he should retain; -
- someone so arrogant and intent on his own design that your brother becomes intimidated and dissatisfied with the service he receives
- someone so clueless about the local planning environment or incapable of learning about the local environment that he cannot negotiate.
- someone that he just cannot get on with and/or tries to fleece him on fees - 8-11% max for a full service to certification would be the norm.
Selecting an architect is a very arduous process and needs to be done with care and there is an excellent key post here:
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=131450
Your brother needs to get into this forum and start reading and learning about the arena he's doing battle in, because make no mistake, development of even a private house can turn into a battle and he's already in one.
He needs to suss out the ground a bit more and gather his allies, in this case his architect and also an engineer, for the roads, access and drainage issues and the structural elements of the house.
Of course he and you are totally free to reject this advice, but you DID ask...
ONQ.
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