Prevention of bungalow blight in North.

MontgomeryClift

I was reading in yesterday's (Friday's) Irish Times how the North's direct-rule regoinal development minister Lord Rooker has proposed that, with few exceptions, no future single buildings can be erected in the Northern Ireland countryside.

We know that with the Northern Ireland Trust etc. the North has schemes for protecting places of beauty that put the Republic to shame but with this 'bungalow blight' proposal they make what's going on down here look like the scandal that it is.

As you all know we have in the South a proliferation of giant white concrete boxes that are ugly from any distance, like huge pimples on the face of the countryside. They're more like giant over-ground bomb shelters than houses. They're not 'trophy houses', more like 'trophy shelters.' It's a problem that's actually being encouraged by human garbage like 'Environment' minister Dick Roche.

I'm just wondering, instead of harping on about a unified republic, we might be better off re-joining the North, since, for all their trouble and sectarianism, they actually seem fit to govern themselves. In the South - and this might seem a bit surprising to the overconfident fake accent generation - I don't think we are fit to govern ourselves.

ghostdancer

fit to govern themselves? :eek:

let Ian Paisley be the first minister of our country for the sake of the view in the countryside? count me out...

lawhec

This is certainly going to lead to land prices, certainly here in Tyrone, going to drop after having rocketed over the last few years to rival that of some of the plusher parts of Belfast. :eek: Driving through a few country lanes near where I live and you can see dozens of plots of land with "For Sale" signs. An uncle of mine recently got planning permission to build a house in the Sperrins on his family's farmland but with several conditions, including that the front of the house facing the road must be faced with natural stone and that it is restricted to a single bungalow only. As its in an area designated of outstanding natural beauty, fair enough I guess. There is also no mains electricity nearby, so NIE will be installing it at a fair expense - he looked at other energy supplies, a windmill was refused but solar panels have been allowed which (even in our weather!) should be enough to power the house heating.

I mostly agree with what's being planned. The one exception I would make would be where the plan is for new houses to be built on sites where the current house sits empty, usually an empty ruin which had a tin shed, with some size restrictions e.g. no more than two or three bedrooms and bungalow only.

Very much the reason behind it is not only for environmental reasons but also public services costs - naturally services for scattered dwellings cost more than for a housing estate. Another problem also lies though in planning for towns, for example the likes of Omagh and Bangor, their sewer systems are badly creaking.

MontgomeryClift

About public service costs, here Dick Roche has rejected proposals to put levies on second or holiday homes to fund local authorities, who look to be facing a 1-2 billion Euro shortfall.

And you make a good point about the natural finish. I've seen one-offs with a stone and brick finish and they look nice and inoffensive compared with the huge white monstrosities that are sadly the norm.

lawhec

There isn't really the same problem here with holiday homes (except maybe in parts of the Mournes) that there is in the Republic, particulary in Donegal. However housing development here in the west of Tyrone has skyrocketed, with land prices now about four times what they were 10 years ago. Alongside south Tyrone and Fermanagh, house prices have gone up on average 38% in a year, with the average house price close to €240,000 - only the North Coast is dearer.

This is something that has to be done for enviromental reasons, while it is fashionable to have a rural house around here, it puts a strain on public amenities. Already Omaghs sewerage system is creaking while in Bangor their's is being partially discharged straight into the sea :eek:. People who build such dwellings cannot expect everything to be hunky dory. At my Uncle's site, a septic tank will have to be used and they'll be no mains water - it'll have to be sourced from a nearby well though in this case, the purity of that water was test at 99.9% so there's no complaints on that front (and they'll probably avoid the soon to be introduced water charges here too!) I've already mentioned that mains electricity is currently not available and will have to be supplied at a fair expense. Phone lines are not a problem though as they have existed there for years (it might end up also being possible to get ADSL broadband!). However many others don't take a lot of this into account, put a strain on the public purse and rises costs for everyone.

MontgomeryClift

It does seem fashionable for people to build in the middle of nowhere in the South. The idea seems to be to be able to live without laying eyes on anybody but the members of your own home. The idea of neighbourhood seems to mean trouble in the minds of Irish people.

I don't think it's a recent thing - Houses were always built this way but not in such numbers. And while it might work for the owners of the home, who are married and fancy a settled life, it's borderline abuse for the children they intend to raise, who will be car dependent even though it will be illegal for them to drive for at least 17 years.

samb

Very good article on one-off housing
http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/Articles/view.asp?CategoryID=-1&CategoryName=&ArticleID=278

MontgomeryClift

I remember someone took out a quarter-page ad in page 3 of the Irish Times last year, complaining about the Green Party, An Taisce and everybody else for using terms like 'bungalow blight' etc. I wondered who it was. Probably a farmer's group with an interest in selling land.

The thing is, at least around here, farmers seem to be dictating planning. Whether or not you are allowed to buy a site and build on it depends on whether the farmer is willing to sell it (for about 60,000 Euro). Whether or not the local authority is prepared to allow you to build is not even considered, since they never seem to refuse permission.