Unauthorized building warning letter

khurshah

Dear mates,

I am bit confused and worried about getting a warning letter from county council that I raised fencing on rear boundary of my back garden. I have erected fencing about 2 feet height on rear boundary for securing my rear of house. We had oil burner missing from backyard and backyard gate was opened due to short boundary height. I did this to secure about 4 months back. But few days back I got warning from council and have been asked for providing submissions and clarifications which I have responded with above point due to concerns of safety and vandalism.

Please advise me is it so serious matter?

DOCARCH

If the overall height of the boundary wall/fence is over 2.0 metres high, you need planning permission.

khurshah

DOCARCH wrote: »

If the overall height of the boundary wall/fence is over 2.0 metres high, you need planning permission.

The height of boundary earlier was 8 feet and I erected 2 feet fences. Hope they accept it. I have already explained the rationale behind it was safety only.

harr

khurshah wrote: »

The height of boundary earlier was 8 feet and I erected 2 feet fences. Hope they accept it. I have already explained the rationale behind it was safety only.

So basically you now have a ten foot fence at the back of the house so that is over 3 meters as mentioned the permitted height is 2 meters unfortunately you probably will have to put in for planning permission for the extra height.
If that is the case included your reasoning for the higher fence and include any pulse number the guards gave you when you reported the thefts.
Any idea how the council got to know about the bigger fence?

DOCARCH

khurshah wrote: »

Hope they accept it.

They may understand, but they will not 'accept it'.

You will either have to remove the fence or apply for planning permission to retain the fence (the extra bit you added).

khurshah

harr wrote: »

So basically you now have a ten foot fence at the back of the house so that is over 3 meters as mentioned the permitted height is 2 meters unfortunately you probably will have to put in for planning permission for the extra height.
If that is the case included your reasoning for the higher fence and include any pulse number the guards gave you when you reported the thefts.
Any idea how the council got to know about the bigger fence?

No idea how council got to know. Maybe someone from neighborhood. It's basically rough area where my house is located. Hope they consider my concern for safety and security.

harr

khurshah wrote: »

No idea how council got to know. Maybe someone from neighborhood. It's basically rough area where my house is located. Hope they consider my concern for safety and security.

As mentioned above nothing they can do now, you will have to remove the extra fencing and get the planning permission. While they probably do understand your concern the decision will be up to planning and if someone did object and rang them already that process might not be straight forward..
Once the council are aware of it now it will need planning...

august12

harr wrote:

As mentioned above nothing they can do now, you will have to remove the extra fencing and get the planning permission. While they probably do understand your concern the decision will be up to planning and if someone did object and rang them already that process might not be straight forward.. Once the council are aware of it now it will need planning...

Is it possible to leave the fencing as is, and seek retention. Check council website for planning retention,

my3cents

Just wondering if say a 2m fence with a 1m trellis on the top is a 3m fence or just a fence with a trellis?

Lumen

my3cents wrote: »

Just wondering if say a 2m fence with a 1m trellis on the top is a 3m fence or just a fence with a trellis?

Either way planning is required.

Exemption wording is:

"a gate, gateway, railing or wooden fence or a wall of brick, stone, blocks with decorative finish, other concrete blocks or mass concrete.".

The important word here is exemption.

You can find things which are not in that wording, e.g. a fence made of metal or glass or human bones, but that doesn't mean it's allowed, it means it's not exempt, and therefore planning is required because it's a structure.

But of course plants don't need planning permission, so there's always a gardening solution.

Gumbo

august12 wrote: »

Is it possible to leave the fencing as is, and seek retention. Check council website for planning retention,

When the above posters mention Planning, they mean Retention Permission.
It is possible to leave in place while seeking Retention and the Planning Enforcement section will put a hold on the Enforcement action until a decision is made.

OP, either way, you need to remove or apply for Retention Permission.
Very common to be honest, and the Planning Enforcement section only act on complaints so someone 100% made a complaint.

khurshah

Any advise regarding retention permission application process- does council make a visit to premises before granting permission?

Whats the procedure of application for grant of permission for retaining the constructed elements in building/land?

Your advises will be much appreciated.

Gumbo

khurshah wrote: »

Any advise regarding retention permission application process- does council make a visit to premises before granting permission?

Yes. Council inspect the site notice and the site in order to ensure the works comply with their development standards. Just like a normal Planning Application.

khurshah wrote: »

Whats the procedure of application for grant of permission for retaining the constructed elements in building/land?

Site Survey
Newspaper Notice
Drawings
Maps
Site Notice
Application forms
fee of €102 to council.

Normal Planning Application time frames apply.

khurshah wrote: »

Your advises will be much appreciated.

Considering you have no experience with Planning Applications, it would be advised you engage someone local with experience and to lodge an Application.