Planning appeal fails as Tipperary man refused permission to keep log cabin
A Tipperary man has received a mixed ruling from An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) after appealing a planning decision involving a temporary log cabin, a farm building and an extension to his home near Clonmel.
Gerard Purcell Junior applied to Tipperary County Council for planning permission to build an agricultural shed for use as general farm storage, as well as alterations and extensions to the house at Kilmore, Lisronagh, Clonmel.
Mr Purcell also applied to the local authority to retain a temporary log cabin on the site for him to live in while the works on the house were underway.
The council approved the farm building and house extension but refused permission for the retention of the log cabin in a split decision.
In their decision, Tipperary County Council said that the wastewater treatment plant that would be added in association with the log cabin would not be “in accordance with the EPA Code of Practice 2021,” which sets standards for wastewater treatment systems, and would be contrary to “a stated policy of the Tipperary County Development Plan”.
“The proposal to retain the temporary onsite accommodation would therefore be prejudicial to public health and contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the council added.
After the local authority decision, Mr Purcell appealed the ruling to An Coimisiún Pleanála, saying that the decision to refuse it was “incorrect and misguided”.
An agent acting on behalf of Mr Purcell said that the standards in the county development plan referenced by the council “do not apply to this development”.
The section referenced “sets out the provisions in relation to new rural houses. This proposed development (retention of a temporary log cabin) is not a new rural house”.
“It comprises temporary accommodation facilitating other elements of the application,” the agent said.
The agent said that wastewater and sludge from the proposed log cabin would be disposed of by being spread on the land or injected into it, which is in line with the Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) Regulations.
“It is proposed that the septic tank be emptied once a month or as often as needed and that the sludge be spread on the land by injecting or otherwise working into the land, as permitted,” they said.
Despite this, an inspector from ACP decided that the split decision from Tipperary County Council should be upheld.
The inspector said that permission for the retention of the log cabin should be refused, but that permission should be granted for the agricultural building and the house extension.
“Having regard to the location of the appeal site within an unserviced rural area of extreme groundwater vulnerability, the commission is not satisfied on the basis of the information provided that waste water arising from the log cabin may be appropriately disposed of on site,” they said in their report.
As a result, the commission upheld the council’s refusal of the log cabin while granting permission for the agricultural shed and house extension.