Planning permission needed or not - where to start!

spellwoman

I have inherited and old cottage on a farm in Co Leitrim and would love to relocate to it. It was built over 100 years ago, but was lived in up until last year.
It is at the end of a private laneway off a bi-road. The only thing I could see to do with the house is to knock it and rebuild.
I would be hoping to rebuild a slightly larger house and change from a bungalow to Dormer.
I haven't fully decided that this is what I will do so I do not want to have to spend a lot of money on an architect/engineer at this stage.
Any help appreciated in advising me on whether I would need to apply for planning permission (even if I was keeping one wall of the original house), how I start the process of enquiring, do I need an engineer or architect & how much am I looking at for one of these & what I should expect of them?
Any help appreciated! As you can probably guess from my questions I am totally clueless! I bought my current house in a small city some years ago and had to do no work with it so I need lots of direction.
Thanks 😊

punisher5112

Extend onto it I'd say... Depends how strict rules are in that region.

rn

The best thing is to get a local planning expert. Most local engineers will do design and planning as a side gig. They usually do first consultation free of charge, unless boom times have changed that. They will give you best advice on what your options are.

The great news is if you do need to go for planning, the existing house will greatly aid your application as I guess you are not from the area and can't demonstrate a "local need".

As long as there's no historical significance on the house, then more than likely you'll be free to knock it. I would be up front that you plan to knock it. The biggest challenge to your application with be septic tank and percolation.

I've done similar to yourself in Roscommon and it was relatively straightforward. Currently building the new house. The guy I used for planning doesn't do Leitrim.

spellwoman

rn wrote: »

The best thing is to get a local planning expert. Most local engineers will do design and planning as a side gig. They usually do first consultation free of charge, unless boom times have changed that. They will give you best advice on what your options are.

The great news is if you do need to go for planning, the existing house will greatly aid your application as I guess you are not from the area and can't demonstrate a "local need".

As long as there's no historical significance on the house, then more than likely you'll be free to knock it. I would be up front that you plan to knock it. The biggest challenge to your application with be septic tank and percolation.

I've done similar to yourself in Roscommon and it was relatively straightforward. Currently building the new house. The guy I used for planning doesn't do Leitrim.

Thanks a mill for that - very helpful. Tell me to mind my own business,but how much did your engineer cost you? I really hope you don't mind me asking but I am clueless-am I talking hundreds or thousands?
Best of luck with the new build - must be so exciting 😆

rn

For design and full planning application, all in including perc test and council application charge. €3500 Inc VAT

But you need to shop around. Others were quoting me 5000 in vat. + tests and application charge. And 7500+ VAT all in. Last one was an architect, other two were engineers who did design on the side. I didn't just go with cheapest either, I met all three. I was lucky the right one for me was the cheapest. In hindsight I understand why people pay bigger cash for architect, but it seamed to work out well for us to go with engineer. Our design was vernacular and simple.

It's a good experience. But it's costly, stressful and a long journey. I think it'll be worth it though.

lgk

spellwoman wrote: »

Any help appreciated in advising me on whether I would need to apply for planning permission (even if I was keeping one wall of the original house),

That would absolutely need planning, falls a long way outside the exempted development limits.

looksee

The job is going to cost, money spent on expert advice at this stage will be well worth it. In the end it will only be a fraction of the total cost, once you start on any kind of building the money just vanishes, having someone advising you could save you the fees easily.

You will definitely need PP - not least for the wastewater system - in fact getting a survey done to see what the prospects of achieving a satisfactory waste water system would nearly be your first job. Checking out the access from the road needs to be done too, to make sure you have/can achieve satisfactory sight lines. Just because someone was already using the entrance does not mean you will automatically get pp to do the same.

You presumably have had title to the land transferred to you, your solicitor should have told you about any rights of way or other possible legal issues, but make sure of them sooner rather than later. If title hasn't been transferred yet then don't do anything till you have sorted out any issues.