Planning Permission Ireland

House design guide

What Meath wants your home to look like

Meath County Council wants new rural homes to blend seamlessly into the countryside by using simple, well-proportioned building forms inspired by traditional Irish vernacular architecture. Houses should be carefully sited using natural landscape contours and mature trees for shelter, avoiding dominating skylines or prominent positions. Finishes should rely on a minimal palette of high-quality local materials like natural stone, slate, and render rather than elaborate modern imitations.

Accepted house types & forms

traditional single narrow plan cottagestorey-and-a-half cottagetraditional two-storey farmhousecontemporary interpretation of traditional simple house formtraditional storey and half dormer cottage

What they want to see

Encouraged by the guide

  • Passive Solar Orientation(Page 14)

    Orientating the house within 15 degrees of due South to maximize solar gain and achieve up to 30% energy savings.

  • Retain Existing Hedgerows(Page 28)

    Existing hedgerows must be preserved and augmented with native planting to maintain local habitats and landscape cover.

  • Stepped Plans on Sloped Sites(Page 23)

    Houses on inclined sites should step down with the slope to minimize the need for massive cut-and-fill platforms.

  • Full 3D Use of Stone(Page 52)

    When stone is used on wings or extensions, it must be applied to all three dimensions of the element, not just as a front facade facing.

  • Shallow Plan Depth(Page 41)

    Utilizing shallower plan depths to maintain well-proportioned gables and a controlled, non-dominating ridge height.

What gets refused

Discouraged by the guide

  • Ribbon Development(Page 11)

    Avoiding the building of 5 or more houses on one side of a 250-metre stretch of road frontage.

  • Deep-Plan and Typical Dormer Bungalows(Page 36, Page 38, Page 71)

    These forms are discouraged/refused due to compromised first-floor headroom, dark corridors, and excessive roof scale.

  • Mock Historical Styles(Page 37, Page 63)

    Imitation styles such as mock Georgian, mock Tudor, and poorly proportioned classical columns/porticos are not accepted.

  • Stone Facing as a Thin Veneer(Page 53, Page 54)

    Using stone purely as a front-facing veneer or cosmetic skin which undermines the material's constructional integrity.

  • Oversized Boxed Fascias and Soffits(Page 47)

    Clumsy, oversized boxed eave details and synthetic replica solutions should be avoided in favor of clean, simple verge details.

  • White Plastic and Highly Ornate Doors(Page 57, Page 58)

    Imitation wood-look white plastic doors, overly ornate glazing, and mock period styles are discouraged.

Materials & finishes

  • Natural slates in blue/black, dark grey, or dark brown (Page 48)
  • Smooth-finished synthetic slates in blue/black, dark grey, or dark brown (Page 48)
  • Traditional local natural stone (Page 52, 54)
  • Nap plaster or dash finishes (Page 54)
  • Pigmented renders in various acceptable colours and textures (Page 54)
  • Zinc standing seam roofing with a pre-weathered grey finish (Page 49)
  • Copper roofing that weathers to a green finish over time (Page 49)

Roofs & form

  • Traditional roof pitches ranging from 35 to 45 degrees (Page 46)
  • Simple barrel-vaulted and curved roof profiles echoing traditional agricultural barns (Page 46)
  • Shallow plan depths to keep gables in proportion and prevent overly dominant ridge heights (Page 41)
  • Hipped roofs acceptable on traditional single-storey narrow-plan cottages (Page 34)
  • Storey-and-a-half forms preferred over dormer bungalows to maximize natural daylight and head height (Page 38)

Siting & landscape

  • Minimum site size of 0.5 acres (2,024 sq.m.) to accommodate wastewater systems and safe separation distances (Page 8)
  • Avoid locating homes on exposed hilltops or prominent ridges where they are silhouetted against the skyline (Page 18)
  • Preserving mature trees and hedgerows to act as natural shelterbelts against prevailing winds (Page 14, 18)
  • Stepping houses parallel to site contours to reduce environmental impact and visual scarring (Page 23)
  • Discreet, narrow entrance gateways (around 3m wide) to minimize hedgerow loss (Page 25)

Auto-generated summary of appendix 15 rural design guide 0 — read the official source ↗. Last updated 22 June 2026.

Based on: Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 2.1 (Minimum Criteria), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 2.3 (Orientation & Shelter), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 3.2 (Contours and Sloping Sites), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 3.3 (Entrances and Drive Ways), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 3.4 (Boundaries, Planting & Trees), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 4.1 (Building Form), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 4.2 (Height), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 5.1 (Roofs, Gutters, Fascias & Chimneys), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 5.3 (Wall Finishes & Colour), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 5.4 (Windows & Doors), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 5.5 (Extensions, Porches & Conservatories), Meath Rural House Design Guide Section 5.7 (Garages).

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