Thursday 15 February 2007

a shed-house in the back garden - soon to be all the rage

This from Tim Healy in the Irish Indo' - A LEGAL challenge cannot be made to a Bord Pleanala decision to allow a back-garden shed to be converted into habitable accommodation, Fingal county manager David O'Connor said last night.
It follows the board's controversial decision to allow a householder in the estate of Summerfield Meadows, Blanchardstown, to convert what was originally a planning permission-exempt shed into a separate dwelling unit.
Fingal Council had turned down an application to allow it to be converted but the board overturned the decision and said it could be used once it is occupied by someone connected with the householder's family, and only for five years.
The decision has dumbfounded officials and councillors who claimed it has serious implications for planning everywhere. It effectively means a householder can build a shed without planning permission and later apply to turn it into a separate house in the back garden.
Cllr Peggy Hamill called on the council to take High Court judicial review proceedings against An Bord Pleanala, especially as it had overturned the recommendation of its own inspector in this case. But Fingal manager, Mr O'Connor, said a judicial review could only be sought if there was a flaw in Bord Pleanala procedures.

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