Looks great Gill, fingers and toes crossed for you

I wish you well, Gill ... we have been down that road, looked into derelicts & plots ... finally we took a place & renevated it from the foundations up ... it was like living in a squat for nearly 2 years with 2 young children too ... eventually, we made it habitable, only to find the barns & outbuildings next door had been sold & a professional builder did it up to look like a palace within months Completely ruined our rural retreat with only nature as neighbours ... so we sold up, never having the satisfaction of seeing it through ... we made a huge profit but nearly 3 years on .. we are still renting, same type of place .. but we`d never be able to afford to buy the same .. the housing market has moved on so much & it is out of our range now ...

The pics look great, it would be a fantastic place after renovation, I hope it comes off for you, Lucy

This plot is in County Longford, five minutes drive from where I am now, in the middle of designated farmland. One of the things in my favour is that the plan includes a haybarn, three stables and a feedroom for a donkey, two goats, a couple of cats, and two breeding ewes. The River Cam, which goes through Longford town centre, runs along the boundary. The nearest neighbour is a five minute walk away unless you count the two Commemara mares in the next field with their foals!
I am cheating on the house and have gone for a off-the-shelf design, which is wood frame but rendered block on the outside (bricks are rare in Ireland and it takes 6 months to get permission for them, if at all). It is not feasible to renovate the cottage as it is literally falling down with the foundations gone, pity as it has been there for 200 years and according to my neighbour, used to house 15 people in the traditional lifestyle of farming families. I have a lovely archiect who has designed the outbuildings to my spec, including the fact that the haybarn will house the motorhome it doesn't really fit the local scenery!
Price wise, ten years ago these projects were a real bargain. Prices have shot up since and I am lucky that this one is a reasonable price. Coming from the South East (Essex) it's still a bargain!

I'm not sure about more spotties, will probably wait until I am down to two again.

Gill

PS The first time I saw it, in March, I let Polo loose and I just saw a big grin flashing by with assorted spots going at top speed!

Looks great Spotsmad, good luck, look forward to seeing it when finished

Great news this morning - I think!

Had a call from my architect who is acting as agent for my planning application, the Council told him that my application has been granted! HOWEVER being Ireland, that's not quite true..... what they have done is given "approval to grant" the permission, so there are conditions attached (like the colour of the tiles) so I have a month to think about it and everyone else has another month to raise objections, but in practice it's a rubber stamp job and i should get the papers in a month's time. Still, I don't have to pay for the plot for another month One of the vets i spoke to today was amazed as her sister has tried to get PP and failed, it's quite difficult to get, generally........
I went over today and someone had let their horses onto it so the paddock, instead of waist high buttercups, is now a manageable length with plenty of "orse muck" to spread about where my roses will be eventually.

Hurray!

Gill

that is great news gill
keep us updated on how it goes

Great news, looks lovely place to live in

Oh Spotmad, really hope it turns out trumps for you - what a fantastic spot to build upon and imagine how beautiful it will look being redone again - simply superb - what a wonderful place to bring up dogs too.


Really looking forward to the progress with it!!

Hi Sm.......

It sound totalyy fantastic.........i look forward to seeing liccies when it is complete (nothing like pressure )......good luck

congrats!!!! im so jealous i would love a place like that....hope all goes well for you!!!