Exempt Development Facing the Sea

Don’t assume anything! Defining the front or any other sides of a house in a rural setting can be a tricky one. The side of the house facing the road may or may not be the front of the house.

Example. I am doing a job/extension on an existing holiday home in Wexford at the moment . The client wished to carry out and exempt development extension, to what they thought, was the rear of the house. I had a lot of debate with the client as what was the front, rear and side of the existing house. They had assumed the elevation facing the road was the front and the opposing elevation was the rear of the house.

We got a Section 5 Declaration mainly to confirm where the front of the house was. The Council confirmed, as I had originally suggested, that the elevation facing the road was in fact the side elevation (and not the front elevation) and the front elevation was to the side (if you know what I mean!). My client ended up having to go for planning for an extension to the side, even though no part of the extension is visible from the road.

It all comes down to how the house was originally designed and what was intended as the front elevation. There are a couple of An Bord Pleanala references on this.

In any of these types of situations, I always advise getting a Declaration for peace of mind (for client and architect).

If you want to post up photos, we could have a debate? 🙂

That is a concern of mine, but would have assumed the road would have been the determining factor. Does the fact that the drawings that would have been submitted for PP show clearly the ‘entrance’, and name it as such into an open hallway help designate front from rear ? What about other houses on the same road ie if I could find mention of front on their submissions or documentation if I can’t find it on my own ?

Also the full height vaulted ceiling extending to the 2 floor levels , is this ok from the perspective of calculating area ?

Also in my planning conditions, there is reference to the ‘front boundary’ and vehicular access. No other references to front or back.

@insight wrote:

Does the fact that the drawings that would have been submitted for PP show clearly the ‘entrance’, and name it as such into an open hallway help designate front from rear.

Without seeing it or knowing anything else, I’d say yes to the above. If in doubt ask somebody for professional advice or even just as your county/city council planning department.