Cork County Council may relax rules on building log cabins as homes
Picture: Grants Generally Council File For Denis Of Be On Scannell To Forestry The Only Permission County Such Constructed Edge Cork Homes
People hoping to build log cabins to use as homes in Co. Cork are likely to see an easing of the rules around where such structures can be built.
The ongoing housing crisis has seen a sharp rise in planning applications for log cabins to be used as homes in the county. Such cabins cost €60,000-€80,000 to construct, are eco-friendly, and relatively cheap to heat.
Cork County Council generally only grants permission for such homes to be constructed on the edge of forestry. Now, the local authority has agreed to review this policy, after councilors highlighted that the current restrictive rules mean applicants were being refused.
Young couples who cannot afford concrete/brick-built homes, which are on average four times the price of a cabin, are increasingly seeking this cheaper option to get a foot on the property ladder, a meeting of Cork County Council heard.
Fianna Fáil councillor William O’Leary told how he had been contacted by a number of constituents who had planning applications for log cabins refused. These applicants live in rural areas but not next to forests.
“We need to relook at our Rural Design Guide’ Who do you think is applying for them, Little Red Riding Hood? The Housing SPC (Special Purposes Committee) must look at this as a matter of urgency,” Mr O’Leary said.
He won widespread support from colleagues when he asked for a relaxation of the designated areas where such cabins can be built. Fine Gael councillor John Paul O’Shea, who leads his party on the council, agreed with Mr O’Leary.
Mr O’Shea said he lives in a rural area which can certainly sustain log cabin development and said he disagrees with the current policy that such cabins have to be located on the edge of forests.
He, like several other local representatives, said he has had an increasing number of people approaching him for advice about the building of such properties.
Some, like Fine Gael councillor John O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn and Independent councillor Frank Roche, said log cabins could be a major factor in tackling the housing crisis. It could also provide cheap accommodation for companies needing workers and enabling older couples to downsize and give their homes to younger families.
“They’re a sustainable way of going forward. We must look at alternatives,” Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sean O’Donovan highlighted the case of a woman close to retirement who wanted to build a log cabin but was refused due to its location.
He said she couldn’t afford a conventional home and as a result of the refusal the council itself would soon have to house her. Mr O'Donovan said this made absolutely no sense in the middle of a housing crisis.
“I don’t think they should all be confined to a wood,” Mid Cork-based Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Looney said.
“We’re in a housing crisis and we should try and facilitate such buildings wherever we can. It would help young couples who then wouldn’t be a burden on the State. We will have to try and address this,” Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty said.
Carrigaline-based Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath said such homes shouldn’t be restricted to rural areas and could be built in towns as well. “It’s a very relevant issue particularly with rising construction costs,” he said.
Council chief executive Tim Lucey welcomed the motion by Mr O’Leary and said: “It’s necessary for us to have a serious discussion around this,” he added. Michael Lynch, the council’s director of planning, also said his unit is prepared to look into the request.