Planners don't adjudicate on house designs or matters of taste, just because a building gets planning permission, dosent mean that it has been approved as a design. I traveled 400 miles from belmullet to dublin via Cavan and I must agree with the sentiment that the quality of design of our one off housing in the last decade leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the new one off housing looks out of place in the landscape. We have taken designs that originally sought to bring the country to the city, in mock todor/georgian/edwardian decor patterns, scaled it up to adpt it for the suburbs and then perversely exported it back to the countryside with attendant lawns. The result is that these substandard designs look like they were helicoptered onto the site, with no regard for context or sense of place. A mobile home would feel more natural on the site. One simple idea is to plant trees before you ever go for planning.
And thats what it is all about at the end of the day, how it feels. Because for most of us our houses and our places boil down to what feels right. No fancy stuff, just I feel at home here. But the optimal economic solution, the 3 grand planning dosent deliver Its something that feels right, rationalise it from a financial point of view, but the concept of 'home', that timeless cosy feeling dosent stand up to much economic appraisal or cost benefit analysis. I know the 20 grand Architectural solution dosent deliver either, but there must be a third way, a way of delivering a cost effective tailered solution to suit unique family solutions to make the most of a unique location and set of circumstances. You cant say its expensive to get something better than yellow pack pattern book architecture when all those thousands of out of work architects would bite your hand off to work for you just to supplement their dole entitlements.
I see the need for strong vibrant rural communities, but I also lament the death of towns, our towns are dying because anyone who can afford it is leaving to get a plot along a country road, soon the rural ideal they escape too becomes suburban without the convenience, soon only those on the welfare, some superpubs, 2 chippers and a chinese left in town. The retail even fected off into the country. Build your suburban pile along the road but dont expect it to last the test of time. Look at what has been built in the last decade and do the exact opposite. What about renovating and extending an existing building. It would have character.
ffaly I was told that dormers are out as are many of the other designs, eg. they want to see storey and a half and not 2 storey for example. Also was referred to Co.Cork rural design guidelines as a sort of 'bible' for planners, and I don't think any of the house plans would comply with these guidelines.