Conversion to residential use in countryside and Green Belt areas

Great care will be necessary in assessing proposals for conversion to residential use as this can be particularly detrimental to the fabric and character of certain buildings. In the countryside, and, in particular in Green Belts and Countryside Policy Areas the Department will normally only consider a relaxation of it's normal planning policies for residential development, where: • residential use is the key to the conservation of a building of local architectural merit or historic interest which comprises an important element of the landscape; • the conversion scheme involves minimal alteration; and • the overall scale of the proposal and intensity of use is appropriate to the locality and would not prejudice the objectives behind Green Belt and Countryside Policy Area designation. Each proposal will be determined on its merits. It should be noted that the application of this policy relates only to schemes of sympathetic conversion. The Department would therefore stress that a grant of planning permission for conversion to residential use will not in itself be considered sufficient grounds to subsequently permit the replacement of the building with a new dwelling.