Meath CC Local Needs

rodge123

Hey All

So I had a pre-planning meeting with Meath County Council today, it was a complete disappointment/shock to be honest.

My Architect prepared a story and attached about 7 items tying me to the local area. He also attached some block models of the proposed new house.
The site already has permission for a house but we wanted something more traditional with a modern twist.

So the planner really liked the house proposal.
When it came to local needs it was a complete 100% NO.

I have lived in the area the last 18 years on/off with my parents and do not own a property.
The planner checked my parents house and it was in an area zoned residential/urban.
It is on the edge of the town and surrounded by fields and a football pitch with detached houses on the road.
If we picked the house up and moved it 500 meters it would be in a rural area!

Both my girlfriend and my hearth just sank when the planner told us we wouldn't meet local needs.

Based purely on the luck of where you were born or brought up, you can be discriminated against in this way?
Why should someone brought up in a rural house have any more of a right to build a one off house than us? (When they in fact may be commuting to Dublin for an office job).

It seems our only option now is to purchase an old run down rural building and look to knock it / rebuild.
Unfortunately, these end to come with an added premium compared to a clean site.

Now for the life of me, I cannot find the Meath County development plan online, their website leaves a lot to be desired!

I'm just curious to see where exactly is states that you must be from a rural area to build a rural one off house?

martinn123

rodge123 wrote: »

Hey All


Now for the life of me, I cannot find the Meath County development plan online, their website leaves a lot to be desired!

I'm just curious to see where exactly is states that you must be from a rural area to build a rural one off house?

Start here,

http://www.meath.ie/CountyCouncil/Publications/PlanningPublications/MeathCountyDevelopmentPlan2013-2019/

or

The current Meath County Development Plan 2013-2019 was adopted on 17th December 2012 and came into effect on 22nd January 2013 and may be inspected in the Planning Department, Abbey Mall, Abbey Road, Navan, Co. Meath, Monday to Friday between 9.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 4.00pm, including all Five Area Offices and Public Libraries during normal working hours.

finally

Copies of the plan are now available for purchase:

Description

CD of County Development Plan (incl. written statement, maps and environmental reports)

FEE. €15.00

rodge123

martinn123 wrote: »

Start here,

http://www.meath.ie/CountyCouncil/Publications/PlanningPublications/MeathCountyDevelopmentPlan2013-2019/

or



finally

Section 10.4 from this PDF for anyone else interested in seeing if they meet local needs criteria.
http://meathcountydevelopmentplan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/meath-development-plan-volume-1-written-statement_lowres.pdf

4Sticks

rodge123 wrote: »

It seems our only option now is to purchase an old run down rural building and look to knock it / rebuild.

Yes - but take note - you can refurbish and extend less than 40m2 and not be bound by SI 9 2014 and all the associated costs eg - you can self build in this case.

onimpulse

I've just run into problems with them too... Basically I found site the other side of the village I"m from and I"ve been told that because it's 6km away it's too far. However, I could get permission to live in a grange which is 10km away, in a different village and where I have no links to? How does that make sense?

BryanF

onimpulse wrote: »

I've just run into problems with them too... Basically I found

1. site the other side of the village I"m from and I"ve been told that because it's 6km away it's too far.
2. However, I could get permission to live in a grange which is 10km away, in a different village and where I have no links to?
3. How does that make sense?

1. what is the zoning of the site that is the 'other' side of the village 6km away? May we assume that the site is in fact outside this village boundary. so essentially its a rural dwelling you propose and the council have said no, as this is against the local development plan and 6km is more than is deemed acceptable for you to meet the housing need Criteria as set out in the Dev Plan..
2. may we assume the 'garage': is an existing garage that you could purchase, and the council have suggested they will give you permission to change its use to a dwelling house?
3. you need to clarify the above before we can make sense of this;)

sydthebeat

grange... not garage

onimpulse

Sorry... A Graig, not a garrage. Autocorrect!

Where you can't find a suitable site where you are from, but do qualify for local needs, Meath Co Co will allow you build in a Graig, up to 10km away. These are usually very small villages - a church & a pub idea, maybe a school with a cluster of houses around. It's basically designed to support small villages where the population might otherwise decline.

onimpulse

Both the site I"m looking at and my family home are outside the zoned residential area. So the only issue is the distance. They consider 6km too far to qualify for local needs.

But part of qualifying for local needs is proving that I'm a member of clubs in the village, that I have social / family links to it... etc. That is all still relevant to this site, which is approx 4km from the village (while my family home is approx 2km the other side).

So to say that I could qualify for local needs and therefore possibly get planning in a Graig 10km away just seems daft as now all the clubs I'm a member of are 10km away are are my family & friends?

rodge123

onimpulse wrote: »

Both the site I"m looking at and my family home are outside the zoned residential area. So the only issue is the distance. They consider 6km too far to qualify for local needs.

But part of qualifying for local needs is proving that I'm a member of clubs in the village, that I have social / family links to it... etc. That is all still relevant to this site, which is approx 4km from the village (while my family home is approx 2km the other side).

So to say that I could qualify for local needs and therefore possibly get planning in a Graig 10km away just seems daft as now all the clubs I'm a member of are 10km away are are my family & friends?

I feel sorry for you onimpulse, it's horrible when they hit you with the bad news.
We have moved on and gone sale agreed on an old cottage, but have had to pay 100% more than what we would have got our site for
Will just have to build a smaller house.

I don't remember the development plan giving a maximum distance you can build from your previous rural dwelling. Maybe I just missed it or simply forget!

Is it stated in the development plan?

If not, can onimpulse make a case for himself? (Although I'd be surprised if it isn't stated somewhere in the plan, seems an obvious thing to include to cover their backs!).

By chance, I have a friend who is taking a chance with an application.
The only concern that was mentioned in the pre-planning meeting was that the site was 8km from his parents house. The planner said it could be an issue and that he would have to make a strong case in the full application. He is arguing that there are no other suitable sites or graigs closer to his parents (Which is true). He should have a decision in 2 months.

onimpulse

There is no distance stated in the County development plan whatsoever regarding the max distance to qualify for local needs (with the exception of Graigs which is 10km). However, I was told at a pre planning meeting that 6km would be considered too far...

It seems to be up to the planners. I'm tempted to challenge it but it could prove to be a very costly exercise and we could just be wasting our time and money.

BryanF

There is a wide variance in different areas. The ability to argue with the development plan & policy is the key. It's great to say the system relIes on planning and sustainable development, but many have been raised to seek a one-off house in the country side.