Best place to buy a site in Galway

Is there any part of Co Galway where you will get planning for a single one-off house now if you are not from the particular area? Did the council planning not change that? You’d want to have a lot of homework done before considering buying a green field!!

Renmore for a min 0.5 acre one off house site?? His requirement is for 2-3 acres. You don't always have to reply you know.

I would suggest west Galway where land prices are lower. Possibly buy a site with an old house on it - better chance of getting planning.

Oughterard, Rosscahill, Moycullen rural areas.

Possibly Barna, Furbo but there are probably extra Irish clauses.

Where there is a will, there is often a way. Talk to local councillors and estate agents.

For example I often hear about local needs sites that were bought but never built upon. There is a 5 year rule on planning unless the house is at wallplate level.

Are you from Galway? I would say you are limited to your home parish and/or partners parish because of local need clause.

Even 2/3 acres of agricultural land wouldn't be cheap.

Best option would be to look for a derelict house with land attached and you have a bit of flexibility. The further from the city you go, the cheaper it will be.

I’ve been through this process fairly recently. The whole thing is not for the faint hearted and takes a lot of time, money and stress - from purchasing the site (subject to planning), to going through the planning process, jumping through all the hoops required, designing the new house, engaging with a builder, engaging with planning authorities and engineers…. And then throw Covid into the mix.

Most sites in Galway do have local clauses attached and they are very strict. For example, I had to prove I had intrinsic links to the area, had to get letters from the local school I attended etc. Technically you’re also supposed to have a legitimate housing “need” - so if you already own a house this could be a problem, but there are ways around this.

The best advice I could give when you’re at this early stage is to speak to a couple of local estate agents who have sites on their books and also speak with local Engineer(s) who know the ins and outs of the planning process in Galway very well. By doing this you’ll get a good sense of whether the whole idea is feasible for you / worthwhile pursuing. You’ll also typically purchase a site subject to getting planning permission, so if your planning application were to fail, you aren’t obliged to follow through with the purchase and all you'll have lost are the costs in getting that far (plus stress, time wasted, hassle, etc!). A seller / agent will not entertain you though if they sense you’ve no chance of getting planning.

Would I do it again - hell no! But I’m glad I did do it all the same.

Yes, subject to planning means you will go sale-agreed on the site, subject to you getting planning. You’ll pay a relatively small deposit to the agent, say €5k which is fully refundable if planning falls through. The seller will usually put some time limit on it, say 6-8 months, I.E. get your planning done and dusted within that time frame or else penalties may apply…

Costs involved - it can vary wildly, depending on the site in question, its location, your house plans….lots of variables.

But to give you a rough idea… I went sale agreed on my site in August 2018. I spent very roughly 5-6k getting house plans and planning application drawn up. Planning was eventually granted in March-April 2019. We closed the sale of the site in May.

Build started in July and we moved into house in July 2020. So approx 2 years start to finish which was very good going considering all the aggravation and uncertainty that covid brought into the mix.

So you’re looking at least €5-6k I think in getting a good planning application drawn up with an engineer and getting planning approved. That’s “best case” where nothing unforeseen comes into it

It’ll potentially be a lot more if you’ve got big notions and engage with an architect for a very bespoke house design.

And like I said, a lot depends on the site in question. E.g. planners can come back with all sorts and demand you provide them with an ecology report or a flood plains report or a traffic analysis for your site. This can add unforeseen thousands to the upfront cost. Fortunately I didn’t have these issues but it’s relatively common.