Design guide · Kilkenny County Council
County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Kilkenny County Council · 95 pages
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- where not to put the building House breaks skyline avoid Visually unsightly steep avenue zigzags through the site, severing garden areas Absence of continuous drainage channel at gate means surface water runs onto main road causing fooding during heavy rain. In very cold periods this presents further hazards to pedestrians and motorists in the form of ice Common Problems to be avoided ■ Steeply sloping sites to the main road often present extreme diffculty for vehicular access and surface water runoff. ■ A common approach is to position the house as high as possible (often to capture best views). This usually has detrimental consequences. ■ The access road invariably zigzags its way through the site in an effort to achieve negotiable gradients. ■ Extensive cut and fll on the upper part of the site is carried out to create a large level platform for both house and vehicular circulation around the house. ■ The result is that the house is disconnected from its immediate surrounding gardens but also the wider visual landscape. ■ Viewed from the country road the house breaks the skyline and fails to blend in. ■ Removal of original native hedgerow and its replacement with a ranch style fence has a negative impact visually and further reduces the scope for blending a new house into a rural landscape.
- can the site accommodate an adequate septic tank and avoid Extensive cut and fll to create level platform for deep plan house and continuous car turning area around the house uses up most of the site. This, combined with a zig zag access avenue, means the only space left for the septic tank and percolation area is the low lying marshy ground. . Never purchase a site that is subject to planning permission. Get percolation tests carried out to ensure adequate percolation exists before purchasing and before committing to the designers fees for the full design service. If buying a site with outline permission, check if percolation test results have been submitted as part of that permission. Eastern side of site is low lying and marshy. If percolation tests do not meet the required standards. It can be necessary to install an effuent treatment system and import topsoil to build a mound to act as a polishing flter. As the avenue severs the site in half, there isn’t enough area on either side of the zig zag avenue for the length of drainage pipe required.
- percolation area? Septic Tank Filter Treatment System Good view to the east is spoiled by the requirement to build a raised and mounded fnal effuent soil polishing flter in accordance with ‘EPA Guidelines’ Raised mound distorts natural landscape and is diffcult to disguise successfully.
- site suitability If, as in many rural areas, your home will be subject to some form of on-site wastewater treatment, one of the most important considerations before fnally deciding on a site, is the site’s suitability for on-site wastewater treatment. It is important to remember that not all sites are suitable for the treatment and disposal of wastewater. Initial indications that a site may not be suitable include the presence of some species of plant such as Alder, reeds, rushes and Iris. Soft underfoot ground conditions or the presence of a high density of surface water features (streams, ponds, etc.) would also indicate that the site may be subject to poor percolation. Sites shown as boggy on Ordnance Survey maps will often be prone to fooding and should generally be avoided. Potential fooding and the impact of development on water levels is a critical consideration at the earliest stages in the design process, ie when selecting your site. Once you have appointed a designer, site suitability should be examined in further detail. An appropriately qualifed professional should be engaged to prepare a full site characterisations in accordance with ‘EPA Guidelines’. The percolation area should be sized for the maximum occupancy of the house, based on the number of double and single bedrooms. An important factor in the siting of the house within the site is the size of the percolation area required and the achievement of all separation distances from both the septic tank / proprietary treatment system and the percolation area to house, site boundaries, wells / springs, roads, watercourses, etc., as per EPA guidelines. If a raised percolation area is required, the impact this may have on the existing site topography should be considered. *All wastewater treatment systems should be designed in accordance with the EPA’s Wastewater Treatment Manuals, Treatment Systems for Single Houses (EPA, 2000) as may be amended by the EPA’s Code of Practice for Wastewater Treatment Systems for Single Houses (P.E. < 10) Prior to submitting a planning application, you should discuss in detail with your designer all aspects of the Site Characterisation Report. In particular your designer should explain to your satisfaction how the following key questions are answered: Key Questions: . Are there any size restrictions on the site? . Is the site suitable to treat the wastewater? (Attenuation) . Is the site able to dispose of the wastewater and surface water? (Hydraulic Load).
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- overlooking: ‘good manners’ Respect your Neighbour It is impossible to cover the many various situations in which the problems of overlooking are issues. Suffce to say that clever, creative designers can often solve these problems in ways that cannot be anticipated by any guide. This guide simply wishes to emphasise that with clever, thoughtful design these problems can be often eliminated. Existing large scale storey hipped roof ‘classical box’ house has excellent views to the south looking across the valley. It also overlooks the site of a proposed house across the road. ■ Avoid blocking your neighbour’s good view (out of courtesy rather than any legal obligation) ■ Avoid your neighbour over looking you ■ Avoid overlooking your neighbour The designer of the proposed new house avoids blocking its neighbours’ view by restricting its height to single storey and partially sinking it below the existing ground. A well planted garden on the north side of the new house combined with traditional stone boundary wall and indigenous hedges help to enhance the County Road neighbours’ view. 6
- avoid overlooking your neighbour House A already exists and the new house B is proposed next door. How can the design of this new house minimise potential problems of being over looked by house A. The shape and orientation of the house is narrow in plan and has a long south facing façade. It gives great scope for concentrating the main living spaces on the south and west sides of the house where the views are best and incoming solar gain can be maximised with the largest windows concentrated on these Possible overlooking problems in east facade can be eliminated by minimising the number and size of windows here. Where a larger window is desirable to admit morning light, but there is still a desire to prevent over looking, then the use of translucent, sand blasted glass is an option. A Stone rubble retaining wall Traditional grouping helps B facades. Secondary rooms such as toilets, stores, garages etc are best located on the north side of the house with smaller windows to reduce heat loss. In house B the main living spaces and largest windows should be concentrated on the south and west sides of the house. These are shown shaded yellow to clarify which walls get the most sun. House A is an existing bay storey hipped roof ‘classical box’. It really requires a much larger site and has extensive glazing on its southern and western facades which overlook the site for house B. By aligning house B on the east – west axis this presents the narrow east facing gable towards house A. This has less visual impact than if house B presented its long facade towards House A. create shelter Private, sheltered and sunny patio area 7
- .7 landscaping, boundary treatments and biodiversity A critical factor in achieving a good level of integration with the local and wider rural area is the landscaping of your site. The garden of a property provides the transitional link between the dwelling and the surrounding environment. Colour, form and texture all combine to create spaces, enclosure and screening around the house. The landscaping and design of the spaces around a building should not be seen as an afterthought, but should strongly infuence the design of a new development. Landscaping with appropriate nature plant species, is also very important for encouraging and conserving new wild life. You should retain or create natural boundaries based on native species trees/ hedges wherever possible. In some instances it may be preferable, and possible, to move the existing hedgerow, thereby retaining the mature hedgerow but also achieving the necessary sightlines (see section .). One thing to consider is how you will access the site and what bearing this will have on existing roadside boundaries. Road safety standards will require the provision of a visibility splay where a new access is proposed. All too often the existing boundary planting is torn out and a concrete wall or ranch fencing is erected behind the visibility splay. This undermines opportunities to conceal the site from public roads, and also results in the removal of valuable eco-systems and natural habitats. Where there is no alternative but to remove the existing hedgerow you should replace “like with like” once safety standards have been met. If a hedgerow must be removed this should only be undertaken when birds are not nesting. i.e. removal of hedgerows should only take place during the months of September- February. Rather than erecting a suburban boundary that will give the site a “hard edge” ill suited to a rural location, you should endeavour to form a planted boundary inside your visibility splay that mirrors the original boundary of the site. When creating a new boundary use traditional materials/planting - typical traditional boundaries in rural Kilkenny are often defned by stone rubble walls and earth ditches topped with native species hedging. Avoid using overly fussy gates and the use of inappropriate non-indigenous planting (non-native coniferous hedging such as Leyland Cypress and Lawson’s Cypress should be avoided as they grow very quickly, present maintance problems are visually intrusive and support little wildlife). A simple check in the surrounding hedgerow will tell you what tree and shrubs species are commonly found in the area. These are the ones that you should plant in your hedgerows. If in doubt, seek advice from an ecologist, or contact the Heritage Offce of Kilkenny County Council. See list of native trees and shrubs in included in Appendix . Pushing back existing hedgerows should be investigated as the favoured option however this may not always be feasible. The Parks Section of Kilkenny County Council can be consulted in relation to this matter. The local tradition of hedges above earth or local rubble stone ditches will also be encouraged. (See Appendix for guidelines on native hedgerow planting) When working close to existing trees it is recommended that particular care be taken to ensure that root systems are not damaged to the detriment of the health and longevity of the tree. Where trees or hedgerows are to be preserved on a development site, it is essential that the trees and hedgerows be protected by the erection of secure fencing prior to any site or engineering works commencing and that no materials be stored within the fenced area and that no vehicles have access to the fenced area. To ensure that trees and hedgerows are protected on a site which has been the subject of a grant of planning permission, a cash lodgement may be required, the amount of which shall be determined by the Planning Authority. Advice on working in the vicinity of trees is contained in BS7 “Trees in Relation to Construction”. (Advice is also available from Kilkenny County Council Parks Department) Development will not generally be permitted where there is likely damage or destruction either to trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order or those which have a particular local amenity or nature conservation value. Development that requires the felling of mature trees of amenity value, conservation value or special interest, even though theymay not be listed in the Development Plan, will be discouraged.
- Where felling of trees is unavoidable a Tree Felling Licence must be sought from the Forest Service. New planting will be required using native species. Trees of local provenance, (i.e. grown from seed from plants growing locally) are preferable if available because they will be best adapted to growing in County Kilkenny. ■ Make the most of existing mature native planting within the site and supplement this where appropriate to create an informal and relaxed garden that has a rural feel. A well considered approach to landscaping and garden design will ensure your home integrates with its surroundings, as well as creating a range of attractive and private spaces or outdoor “rooms”. Avoid concrete/stone kerbing and pavoirs that result in a very urban look and feel■
- . access and sight lines Aim (a) Try to choose a site that can achieve its access sightlines without altering existing native hedgerows or mature trees along its (or an adjoining neighbour’s) boundaries. (b) When it is necessary to remove existing native hedges then proposals that either push these hedges back or reinstate with native hedge species inter-planted with native broadleaf trees will be favoured. The local Kilkenny tradition of hedges above earth or local rubble stone ditches will also be encouraged. When working close to existing trees it is recommended that care be taken to ensure that root systems are not damaged to the detriment of the health and longevity of the tree. Advice on working in the vicinity of trees is contained in BS7 “Trees in relation to Construction”. (c) Whether forming a long access lane within your property or reinstating roadside boundaries aim to replicate the character of the rural country road or laneway as much as possible. * Note that when reinstating a hedge boundary along a public road you may be required to centre the hedge m behind the line of the visibility splay to allow for the growth of the hedge. (d) Co Kilkenny has a tradition of simple local rubble stone or painted plaster boundary walls and gateposts at entrances. These are frequently softened by substantial stands of mature native trees immediately inside the roadside boundaries. These will be acceptable. 0
Source Kilkenny County Council: County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.