Planning Permission indenture issue

M

marielle

Guest
Hello there,
I hope someone will be able to help me with this query.
I am building a house in the heart of Connemara and planning permission was granted back in November 2005 by Galway County Council.
I contacted a Mortgage Brokers to get a mortgage and as part of their service they gave me a list of solicitors of which I had to pick one to handle the process.
I picked a solicitor based in Greystones, Co Wicklow.
The Mortgage has gone through and we have made our first drawdown of the funds which will be delivered in stages as construction goes on.
The solicitor has now produced a document (indenture) which they say I must sign before I can get the next stage payment.
This document, which they have drafted to their own accord, is basically outlining a contract between myself and Galway County Council (the back of the document mentions section 38). Here is what the schedule of the document says:
“The use of the proposed house shall be restricted to use by the applicant, applicant’s family, heirs, executors and administrators or to persons involved in agricultural or related activities, returning immigrants or those with an essential housing need in this rural area, unless otherwise agreed by the Planning Authority for a period of 10 years. No development shall commence until an agreement embodying this provision has been entered into with the Planning Authority, pursuant to Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000. The period of restriction shall have effect from the date of first occupation of the house.”
This particular condition to the Planning Permission is indeed referred to in the planning document itself (C3) but the council never contacted me about signing any such contract and I have friends who were granted Planning Permission in the same area and build their house since and never were asked to sign this kind of document. What I’m wondering is : is such a document necessary?
Does this mean that signing such a document would actually add a burden on my folio that wouldn’t exist otherwise? I’m looking at the details of the indenture and here is what it says:
“The Owner hereby consents to the registration of this agreement as a burden on the said folio and for this purpose the owner hereby undertakes with the Council that immediately following the execution of this agreement by the parties hereto he will lodge it in the Land Registry.”
Basically, my question is: is my solicitor working against me rather than safeguarding my best interest here? If I don’t sign anything and the council don’t pick up on it, does this mean that I would be able to sell the house within the 10 years? Is this a loophole that I could be taking advantage of ? I am not planning on selling the house but hard coding into the folio that I can’t is something I am uncomfortable with, especially if I can avoid it.
I feel that my solicitor is bullying me into signing this against my best interest.
Am I right?
Thanks for any input.