I’m sick of construction noise in my area. Is there anything that can be done?

Are county councils required to take account of the phasing of construction activity in the consideration of planning applications? I live in a mature residential area in Dublin and the part of the road on which I am resident has been subject to continuous construction activity with associated noise and dust and so on for the past year. The works are mainly related to house extensions and renovations, sometimes starting before business hours. In recent weeks two more planning applications for major works have been posted on nearby houses. These works are really affecting my quality of life in what is otherwise a great area. I would welcome recognition by the planning authorities that there is a limit to how much construction activity a residential area can tolerate at any one time.

In a word, the answer is no. You will appreciate the difficulties that would arise if a third party such as a local authority were to decide the timing of a project given the range of issues any intending applicant or developer must balance. These issues include everything from their cash flow to builder availability and potentially sourcing alternative accommodation for the duration of the works.

In addition to this, a planning permission typically has a five-year life from when the permission is granted until such times as the works are substantially completed, which is a relatively long time in the context of an individual planning permission.

It must also be appreciated that our built environment is constantly evolving and that before they reach a decision the planners will have to consider the implications not just for the applicant but also on other residents and the area at large.

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The greater good inevitably comes at a cost and not only in financial terms for the applicant/developer but in inevitable disruption to the surrounding area during construction.

Having said that, planners are generally mindful of the impact of construction work and more often than not conditions will be imposed as part of a grant of permission. Typical conditions include restrictions around working hours, and restrictions on allowing spillage of muck and dust on to public roads and/or imposing a regular cleaning regime. You say two planning applications have been posted recently. Now is your opportunity to register any concerns you have, not just about the design, which is what a lot of people focus on, but about the impact of the construction works and conditions you would like to see imposed if planning permission is granted.

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In many cases, the applicant will be returning to the property once the work is done and, in the interests of harmony, will be trying to minimise the impact on neighbours.

Furthermore, there is an implied obligation that the works do not give rise to any damage to an adjoining property, particularly when working on or close to a shared party wall. These situations can be difficult to navigate, and it is very common for the parties to meet with a view to minimising the effects of the works. This is particularly important if there are elderly residents or indeed children/babies living in the neighbouring properties. Usually, the parties will come to an agreement around the methodology and timing of particularly noisy and disruptive works. It must be appreciated, however, that the works ultimately need to get done to facilitate the development.

Unfortunately, there are some instances when developers will simply ignore their neighbours and are solely focused on getting the work done. In such cases, your first port of call is to check and see if the developer is in breach of the planning and in particular around imposed conditions for working hours or noise emissions and so on. If this proves to be the case, the planners will normally assist in getting the developer to comply.

If, however, the developer is not actually in breach of the planning, the matter will come down to whether or not there is any damage to your property or any tangible nuisance or disruption, in which case you may have to take action against the developer. Usually matters can be resolved by dialogue but if matters persist you may have to seek specialist advice from construction professionals or a solicitor.

Val O’Brien is a chartered building surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

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