Hi Mrs H
From
The Irish Statute Book
"5.—(1) If any question arises as to what, in any particular case, is or is not development or is or is not exempted development within the meaning of this Act, any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee, request in writing from the relevant planning authority a declaration on that question, and that person shall provide to the planning authority any information necessary to enable the authority to make its decision on the matter."
A Section [broken link removed] takes 4 weeks and costs €80.
This is the [broken link removed].posted for information only.
These references are from the Dublin City Council website as examples.
However...
The nature of a protected structure is such that the Exempted Development Schedule does not apply.
By that I mean that works that might normally be carried out without planning permission now need planning permission.
There may be provisions of the development plan which impose special restrictions on carrying out any works within their area of operation, such as an Architectural Conservation area.
Equally some requirements may be relaxed due to the Protected Nature of some structures providing work will be carried out to the highest conservation standards.
As against all of this there is ranged Section 4(1)(h) of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
"(h) development consisting of the carrying out of works for the maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any structure, being works which affect only the interior of the structure or which do not materially affect the external appearance of the structure so as to render the appearance inconsistent with the character of the structure or of neighbouring structures;"
This general principle is further qualified by
Section 57
"57.—(1) Notwithstanding section 4 (1)(h), the carrying out of works to a protected structure, or a proposed protected structure, shall be exempted development only if those works would not materially affect the character of—
(a) the structure, or
(b) any element of the structure which contributes to its special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest."
You may be forced to make a referral under Section 57
The substance of your referral will centre on which prevails,
(i) the removal of the ability to avail of exempted development provisions by the Protected Status or
(ii) the provisions of Section 4(1)(h), per the qualification of Section 57 above.
However if you go the Section 57 route, its 12 weeks.
Depending on the detail of the work, you may need permission.
I've been told by two separate sources that a recently ruling by the Board of Appeal seems to have raised up Section 4(1)(h).
You will need to find out whether the local authority will allow you to make request a Section 5 Declaration on a Protected Structure.
From my reading of the Act it doesn't seem to preclude it.
I think if you were replacing the roof or part of the roof you would have to retain a competent architect to -
- survey the roof
- specify the work
- conduct limited inspections
- issue a letter or compliance
- make photographic record of the process and the completed works.
You might avoid having to apply for planning permission that way.
That is, providing you were using original materials and construction methods.
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.