Bizarre tree house dispute in Limerick at 'well-advanced' stage

AN INVESTIGATION into a neighbourly dispute over a tree house is at a “well-advanced stage”, five months into the process, the Limerick Leader has learned.

On January 25, Limerick City and County Council called on An Bord Pleanala to settle the bizarre disagreement over the construction of the tree house in the suburbs.

While a decision was due to be made by May 20, the deadline has been extended, and it is possible that the case may not be settled until July 25.

It is understood that a resident on the Rosbrien Road first issued a complaint to the council regarding the construction, and the local authority then referred the matter onto An Bord Pleanala.

As part of the body’s investigation, it will see if the tree house is a development and, if so, if it is an exempted development.

The review of the case has been described as “a novelty” case.

An Bord Pleanala is reviewing the case in a two-stage process, under Section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

A source told the Leader: “Usually, there is a two-stage process, but it can be a one-stage process. The reason being, is that if you decide that it is not a development, at all, then there is no question about whether or not it’s exempted development.”

If it is not seen as a development, the construction of tree house will not require planning permission from the authority.

“At stage two, if you decide that it is a development, if you decide then that it is not exempted development, then it requires permission.”

The source said that planning authorities are “at liberty” to make a decision on the process. When asked for a comment on the matter, a spokesperson for Limerick Council stated:

“Limerick City and County Council won’t be commenting on a matter currently going through the planning process.”