Re: Re: reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

I am not too sure that this practice has been completely outed and dicredited yet – or at least some of the conservation officers in the LAAs either have not read the guidelines offered by the National Heritage Council or else could not care less.

Praxiteles is aware of a case in Cork Couny where the conerrvation officer (M. Hallinan) had no difficulty at all in permitting the erection of something in the region of 650 square feet of this beautiful georgian wire galss in front of a large neo-Gothic church window. Moerover, the conservation officer was so eager to allow this, that it was deemed that planning permission was NOT necessary for such a major alteration to a protected structure.

As it turned out, a rather particular legal mechjanism had to be applied to bring this issue into the public forum. When so applied, the ever eager Cork County Couincil was good enough to make a declaration to the effect that erecting 650 square feet of storm glazing did not amount to an alteration to the characted of a protected structure and was thus considered EXEMPT development.

Well, a trip to ABP put a stop to the County Councils trot pretty quickly when it determined that not only would the application of 650 square feet of storm glazing alter the character of an element of a protected structure but would also alter the character of the entire structure itself.

Mind you, Praxiteles is not sure of the significance of an architectural protected area is since the church is right bang in the middle of one such area and the same conservation officer appeard to have made no effort whatsoever to save the few remaining 19th century sash windows in the terraces at either side of the church and in the terraces in front of it.

Can we please have another section on conservation officers put into the Building Act?