Planning Permission Ireland

House design guide

What Mayo wants your home to look like

Mayo County Council aims to protect the county's natural landscape by encouraging rural homes that use traditional scales, simple shapes, and native landscaping. Homeowners are expected to design narrow, low-impact houses that sit naturally within the landscape's existing slopes rather than commanding attention on ridge tops. Simple, durable materials like natural slate, smooth plaster, and timber should be chosen to ensure the home blends seamlessly with traditional local buildings.

Accepted house types & forms

traditional irish vernacular cottage (one room deep)one-and-a-half storey house (l-shaped in plan and one room deep)two-storey l-shaped housetwo-storey plus one-storey combined formlong two-storey house with rear returnlow flat-roofed house (high-quality contemporary design)low-pitched contemporary house (copper or zinc roof)traditional style single storey cottage (for thatched roofs)

What they want to see

Encouraged by the guide

  • Maximise passive solar gain(pages 6, 13, 27)

    Locate and direct living and kitchen spaces to face between Southeast and Southwest, with larger windows on the south side and minimal windows on the north side.

  • Utilise topography for shelter(pages 6, 7)

    Position the house amongst hills and ridges rather than on top of them to sit neatly into the existing contours and minimise visual impact.

  • Retain original site boundaries and trees(pages 6, 10, 11)

    Keep existing mature trees, hedgerows, and stone walls. Replant any lost hedgerows behind the new boundary line using native species.

  • Design a narrow plan form(page 16)

    Incorporate a narrow house depth of 6 to 7 metres to achieve traditional proportions and maximise passive solar heat gain.

  • Build solid and proportional entrance porches(page 18)

    Porches should be of solid construction and reflect the character, detail, and proportion of the house.

  • Use vertically proportioned windows(page 20)

    Choose windows with a vertical emphasis (using 'Golden Section' height-to-width ratios) to harmonise with traditional design.

  • Use traditional dry stone boundaries(page 11)

    New boundary walls should match traditional styles in the area, be constructed as 'dry' walls without visible mortar, and not exceed 1.2 metres in height.

What gets refused

Discouraged by the guide

  • Breaking the skyline(page 7)

    Avoid imposing the house on the landscape, placing it on the highest point of a hill, or blocking scenic views.

  • Excessive roof spans and single-volume massing(pages 7, 13, 14)

    Do not build single-volume houses with roof spans wider than 8 metres, as this makes the roof look disproportionately heavy.

  • Synthetic or imitation wall materials(page 23)

    Artificial stone and brick wall finishes are strictly unacceptable.

  • Unacceptable roof tiles and materials(pages 23, 24)

    Clay tiles, profiled concrete tiles, and plastic profile sheeting are unacceptable.

  • Synthetic PVC and aluminium doors(page 19)

    Avoid PVC and aluminium doors, as well as elaborate, ornate, or asymmetrical front door designs with patterned glass.

  • Wide horizontal and Georgian-style windows(page 20)

    Avoid large, wide horizontal openings and excessive/elaborate window subdivisions like heavy Georgian styling.

  • Improper dormer window designs(page 21)

    Avoid dormers that project through the roof plane, lean-to dormers, and flat-roofed dormers.

  • Suburban boundary and garden details(pages 8, 10, 11)

    Avoid 'crazy paving' stone cladding, elaborate gate posts, floodlighting, and non-indigenous garden species like Leylandii or Pampas Grass.

Materials & finishes

  • Nap / smooth painted plaster (always suitable)
  • Specialist lime and stone mixes (acceptable to give an aged dash finish)
  • Natural slate (highly recommended for durability and appearance)
  • Timber / hardwood windows and doors (easily painted and repaired)
  • Pre-coloured deep dark red or green corrugated metal sheeting with barrel-vaulted profile
  • Zinc or copper sheeting (considered individually for contemporary designs)
  • Colours: White or cream-white wall finishes, pre-coloured dark brown or sand-coloured dash
  • Thatch (permitted on traditional single-storey cottages only)

Roofs & form

  • Roof pitches between 35 and 45 degrees to resist wind and rain
  • Narrow plan form with an optimum depth of 6 to 7 metres
  • Large houses broken down into several smaller, joined forms
  • Exposed rafters, traditional concrete barges, and flush eaves where the slate does not project past the wall face
  • Solid full or half dormers
  • Low flat roofs or low-pitched copper/zinc roofs allowed only for high-quality contemporary designs

Siting & landscape

  • Position houses to sit neatly into existing contours, avoiding unnecessary site excavation or filling
  • Avoid breaking the skyline by placing buildings amongst hills and ridges
  • Face living areas southwards (between Southeast and Southwest) to capture light and heat
  • Retain existing mature trees, stone walls, and hedgerows to maintain shelter and privacy
  • Site entrances must have a maximum road setback of 3.0 metres to prevent unnecessary loss of older hedgerows
  • The ground finish within the setback must be grey or brown pea gravel, avoiding tarmacadam, hardcore, or maintenance stone
  • Replant lost boundaries with native species (like Alder, Blackthorn, Whitethorn, Hazel, Spindle, and Holly) spaced 30-45cm apart in 2-3 staggered rows
  • Avoid suburban-style garden layouts, formal plant arrangements, and non-indigenous trees/shrubs

Auto-generated summary of Mayo Rural Housing Design Guidelines — read the official source ↗. Last updated 22 June 2026.

Based on: Section 1.1 (Page 6), Section 1.2 (Page 7), Section 1.3 (Page 8), Section 2.1 (Page 10), Section 2.2 (Page 11), Section 3.1 (Page 13), Section 3.2 (Pages 14, 15), Section 3.3 (Page 16), Section 4.1 (Page 18), Section 4.2 (Page 19), Section 4.3 (Page 20), Section 4.4 (Page 21), Section 5.1 (Page 23), Section 5.2 (Page 24), Section 6.1 (Page 26), Section 6.2 (Page 27).

For information only — not legal or planning advice. Always confirm requirements with Mayo County Council and a qualified professional before relying on them.