Council contacted us this week. Surprise surprise, they want us to submit more information before they grant our approval. According to our certifier, they need a building and pest report and an engineering report on the house in it's current condition. What could they possibly need that for? They have all the reports and plans for the proposed renovations. Revenue raising perhaps? Hmph.
They also requested photographs of the house, which I was happy to provide, despite being slightly embarrassed by the one of the back of the house which sports some special "anatomical" graffiti! Hope they won't be put off by that ...
Our certifier is confident he can argue that we do not need to provide the requested reports (at least not all of them), which will save us some money and more importantly TIME. If anyone has friends in council, now is the time to let me know!
x M
sounds like your planning system is as archaic as ours here in the emerald isle ! i think you have hit the nail on the head when you mention it being a money racket. when we submitted our plans , we had already paid over €20,000 for architects fees, surveyors fees, and council fees and charges - and even at that there was no gaurantee we would even get planning. at least under the uk system you get tpo meet a planner prior to doing anything and they will guide you as to what is and is not acceptable to local council policy. luckily it paid off for us so i hope it pays off for you too - so frustrating this waiting game !
ReplyDeleteI know Ken, trying to keep patient but it has been almost 4 weeks in council now! xM
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