Planning notice querey

okgirl

Hi there, I am just wondering what the situation would be if someone started an extension (permission granted) without having had their planning notice displayed for the required lenght of time. ( about 5 weeks I gather). Neighbours of our are extending and as there was no notice up before hand no one new about it and therefore we have not had the chance to view plans and object if need be.
I have been to the planning officwe and views the site plans were the have marked where the notice would be displayed. This definately did not happen as it is right beside my house and I would have noticed. The planning official has told me that it was checked and present. However, I know this not to be true.
This extension is a very big one and while it will not directly effect me I am just curious as to why I had to display my notice for the given time when I built a garage.

Jimbo

The council are supposed to check if the Site Notice is up and its highly unlikely they would lie about it afterwards. Are you completly sure it wasn't up? Maybe they put it in an inconspicuous place near where it was marked on the site layout and you just didn't notice.
There isn't much you can do about it at this stage to be honest. Its your word against the applicants' and the planning officials'.

sydthebeat

Im afraid you have no recourse.

once the notice was erected when the official from the council checked, then everything is above board. If theres anything untoward happening, i dont think anyone here can comment.

the notice appeared in the local newspaper as well, so thats all the public notice they are required to give and if it wasnt seen, well, so be it.

okgirl

Thanks, I know it was in the local paper alright. We just didn't see it but I do know it was not up where they say it was. I know ther is nothing we can do but it is a bit sneaky of them all the same. This is another house they are building on to theirs and as I stated it won't matter to me but it does to the people right next door to them. A few of the neighbours a annoyed at this as they did not see any planning notice either. We are not all blind. I would imagine it was there on the day the notice was inspected. That all.

smashey

okgirl wrote: »

I would imagine it was there on the day the notice was inspected. That all.

The planners don't say when they are going to inspect it.

Sometimes, these notices get knocked down/removed/vandalised. As syd said, there is ne recourse now.

Mellor

I know you say it wasn't there, but it is likely you just missed it.
This is very easy. I myself missed one nearby my house, was a PP for 8 houses. In my defence the council hid it in a corner.

Schooby

If you did want to chase it up there is provision in the planning act for taking cases like this to An Bord Pleanalla even though an objection was not made in the 5 week period, ideally it would want to be within the 4 week period after the notification of intention to grant from the planning authority, and may involve going to court to get leave to appeal, cant remember the detail but there is provision in the act, it makes provision for circumstances such as someone being on holiday for the 5 week period and comming back to find that they have missed the chance to object to something that majorly impacts on them.

go into the planning office and get a look at the planning file, the internal reports should be on it now if it was granted and you can see if there was a site inspection by a member of staff within the 5 weeks, this is rarely the planner normally engineer or technician.

the planning regulations state that the site notice has to be visible and legible you would probably have to get a number of persons in the area to sign affidavits that it was not there.

fair bit of messing around and probably expensive after you have paid for proper advise, but I'm fairly sure there is something in the planning act regarding leave to appeal, may be a precident in a cork harbour application?

muffler

The bottom line in all of this is that you are the neighbours missed the boat. Its your word against the planners. They (planners) have confirmed that they have inspected the site and seen the notice and that is that.

I do know of cases where the site notice was never erected yet it was written into the planning file that it was there. These things happen. They shouldnt but thats life.

I believe that every site notice should be photographed by the inspecting official(s) but there is no provision in the planning and development regs for this.

Schooby

as an interesting aside, it may be the case, not tested in court yet that if there is no site notice erected the application is not valid and any grant would be equally invalid.