The steps to renovating and extending an old Irish farmhouse

Planning is normally granted for professionally designed extensions

A farmhouse retrofit in County Wicklow by Studio Red Architects. The project arose out of an RIAI Simon Open Door consultation. Peter Grogan

Hi Kieran,
I have a question about renovating a typical Irish farmhouse — three-up, two-down — in east Cork. Do you think it would be difficult to achieve planning to add to the building, either on one or two storeys? Would the first step be to show the plans to an architect and would architects usually have an idea if it would be approved? Thanks very much, Marian

Hello Marian,

Thank you for your question. Great to hear you are living in east Cork, I know it well. So, you are about to start renovating an old Irish farmhouse. Maggie Molloy would be proud! And you have realised that there isn’t enough space so you are hoping to add an extension. This of course means you are likely looking for planning permission, so let’s see how that works and what your chances are.

If you are designing a new space I would indeed start with an architect. If possible I would resist the urge to be overly prescriptive but more walk the house with the architect and tell them what is working and what isn’t and let them design out the solutions. It might involve knocking some internal walls, adding some new space on ground floor — eg, kitchen/ living — or on the first floor — eg, a new master suite — but it is likely there are a few ways of divvying up the space. (You might be surprised at how much space you actually have, once you redesign the existing spaces in your house.)

Once this is complete and you have finally signed off on the drawings your architect can now advise you on whether planning permission is needed and indeed what your chances are and the risks involved. There is generally an allowance for an amount of floor space (typically 40 sq m) which is called exempted development; this is an allowance for an extension that does not require planning permission. There are certain restrictions involved here and it varies from place to place so be sure to check with your local council but your architect can advise you further. If your proposed extension does not fall within the parameter of the exempted development allowance, you will likely need to apply for planning permission.

Kieran McCarthy: 'Planners also promote these houses being sensitively restored and lived in, which maintains these houses and brings new young people to support rural communities without detracting from the landscape or causing overdevelopment.'

When people learn that they need to apply for planning permission it can be quite daunting. It immediately adds an amount of risk to your project and you fear that even though you love your new plans, you feel you must resist mentally moving into your new extension until your planning has been improved in case the worst-case scenario occurs. In truth, most planning refusals are for new builds and this is because these are much more sensitive as they often involve new development, or new houses where there were no houses previously. In these instances, planners are cautious as they move to protect the rural landscape and environment and there is usually a control on who is a viable planning applicant.

Generally, planners wish to support applications from people who have a genuine link to the area, who have grown up in the area, went to the local school and are returning to the family farm to help with the farm and to look after their ageing parents and that applicants have a housing need, ie, they do not already have a house. There are exceptions to this rule and it varies from place to place so best to check with your architect on what rules apply in your local area. The aim here is to support local communities and the traditional rural way of life.

In your case, you are seeking to add an extension to an existing building so you do not need to substantiate your connections to the local area and there is no new house being built. Planners generally accept that many of our older houses were designed and built in a time when our needs were different. Though families were likely larger, living conditions were different. Many children shared a bedroom, perhaps even a bed and our penchant for open plan living and high quality light filled living space wasn’t even a thing.

Planners also promote these houses being sensitively restored and lived in, which maintains these houses and brings new young people to support rural communities without detracting from the landscape or causing overdevelopment.

There are of course many planning stipulations that need to be adhered to. You need to ensure that you do not overlook your neighbours or indeed cause them to lose daylight. There may be height restrictions. There are separation distances from your existing well and septic tank or treatment unit and you need to ensure that these foul treatment units comply with EPA regulations. Again, your architect can take you through all these steps. They might seem daunting but when handled by an experienced professional, it is literally step by step.

Once you lodge for planning, you have about eight weeks to wait for an initial decision. If it is positive, you have another four weeks to wait until you get a final decision, before you can set about building the extension. If after the first eight weeks you get a further information request, you have another four weeks before you may get an initial grant and then the final four weeks before you get a final decision. In this instance the planners may want additional information or want you to adjust your plans. A refusal is possible but in my experience it is very rare for a professionally designed extension.

So, all in all, I would expect that, using the right team, you should end up with a positive planning decision for your new extension so you can now proceed and to build the house of your dreams. All you need now is a builder.

Kieran McCarthy is a building engineer and director of KMC Homes bespoke A-rated new home builder, serving Cork and Limerick. He is also co-presenter of the RTÉ property show Cheap Irish Homes;

Follow Kieran on instagram @kierankmc for more home building information, tips and Q&A advice;

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