Pre Planning Clinics

MRJ

Hi all, just wondering is it worth going to a Pre Planning clinic before applying for planning permission or would it be a waste of time.

r-i-tect

Alldepends on what you are planning on building

in the current Market planners would love to see you

MRJ

Would be applying for just an ordinary bungalow.
Would the current economic situation have any bearing on the rate of planning refusals? and if i was to attend a Pre Planning clinic is there any questions i should be asking

r-i-tect

Planners never really agree to anything in a pre-planning meeting, as the case officer may be someone different. If you feel that there may be concerns then it is no harm in having a meeting. It all depends on location and what has happened around the location of the proposed scheme.

Splinter Cell

I would say definitely, try to understand what the planners are looking for in your area, e.g. local rural person credentials, house style, building materials etc. and address as much of this as you can in your application. My experience with planners is that they will wait until the last minute to send you a letter looking for more information, usually for something trivial that you could have easily provided up front if you had known that they would look for it. I provided family birth certs and letter from school principle to prove local status and was subsequently asked for a letter from the parish priest, then later 2 utility bills, later again the planning application no. for the family home built in the 70's.

muffler

Yes go for it. Im not sure how other PAs operate but here in Donegal for example notes of the meeting are recorded by the planner and a follow up letter is then sent outlining the various issues that would need to be addressed when formally submitting an application. Should a different planner then deal with your application they will need to refer back to the points raised at the pre planning meeting.

I have seen things crop up at these meetings that we would not have been aware of. For example a proposed road realignment at a site location, new water mains to be extended past a site, an underground burial chamber on the site etc etc. Some of these will show up from inspecting various maps and others wont. The whole idea of the pre planning meeting is to determine your chances of getting PP. Before the meeting the planner checks with the different departments (Roads, Water & Environment) to see if they have any proposals that would affect the site.

The meeting also allows you to discuss the design elements of the proposed house so all in all I would highly recommend attending the meeting.

MRJ

Thanks for the replies, have a meeting with the planner in a couple of weeks will see how it goes.

Carlow52

For the benefit of the OP:
if he has an architect/engineer on board is is useful or otherwise for he/she to attend the pre-planning meeting?

Poor Uncle Tom

Carlow52 wrote: »

For the benefit of the OP:
if he has an architect/engineer on board is is useful or otherwise for he/she to attend the pre-planning meeting?

Can't hurt, and if the agent is present they may ask the technical questions the client won't ask.