PLANNING permission for the construction of an extension to an existing outbuilding on the grounds of a hospital/infirmary in Donegal has been given the green light.
Applicant Dermot Mulligan lodged plans with Donegal County Council in October of this year.
He sought permission for the construction of an extension to the existing outbuilding approved as additional accommodation and storage ancillary to the main dwelling house.
The proposed plans at Townparks (part of) Sheil Hospital, Ballyshannon, include the addition of a balcony space to first floor bedroom, change of use from boiler house at ground floor level to bedroom and stone cladding to the front elevation and minor alterations to approved windows and doors.
The proposal requires the carrying out of works to property located within the confines of a protected structure.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage lodged a submission, noting that the proposed development would involve ground works within the area of archaeological potential around Recorded Monument (Historic Town) which is subject to statutory protection under the terms of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994.
The Department recommended that archaeological monitoring should be required as a condition of planning, and should be carried out under the terms of a licence issued by the Housing, Local Government and Heritage Department.
In their submission, the Department requested that the applicant employ a qualified archaeologist to monitor the ground works associated with the development.
The Department further requested that the archaeologist notify the Housing, Local Government and Heritage Department at least four weeks prior to the commencement of site preparations.
Furthermore, should archaeological material be found during the course of monitoring, the archaeologist may have the work on the site stopped, pending a decision as to how best to deal with the archaeology. The developer shall be prepared to be advised by his Department with regard to any necessary mitigation action, such as preservation in situ or excavation.
Donegal County Council has granted planning permission with seven conditions attached.
These include that the existing dwelling and ancillary outbuilding unit shall be jointly occupied as a single residential unit and the outbuilding shall not be sold, let or otherwise transferred or conveyed, save as part of the dwelling.
Details of all external finishes shall be agreed in consultation with the architectural conservation officer. Furthermore, all waste associated with the development shall be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner and off site at an authorised/licensed facility.
