What is the difference between a decision to grant and a grant of permission?

How it works in Ireland

When the council decides your application it sends a notification of its decision to you and anyone who made a submission. If it intends to grant, the notice sets out the main reasons and any conditions. Under section 34 of the 2000 Act, the council then makes the grant “as soon as may be after the expiration of the period for the taking of an appeal”, if no appeal has been taken. If there is an appeal, the council cannot grant until the appeal is withdrawn, dismissed or decided.

So there are two documents, and the second is the one that counts. The first tells you where you stand; the second is the permission itself, and it is the one a lender, a solicitor and the building control authority look for. Ask the council for the date the appeal period ends, and expect the grant to follow within days of it if nobody appealed. Look at your own planning file online if the council publishes it: a final grant appears as a separate entry.

The appeal period for an ordinary decision is four weeks from the date of the decision. Check the date printed on your notice, because weekends and public holidays are handled by the Planning Act’s rules on time computation and the council can confirm the last day. If an appeal is lodged, either by you against a condition or by a third party against the grant, the council cannot issue the grant until the appeal board decides or the appeal is withdrawn. See planning objections and appeals for what an appeal costs and how long it takes.

Read the conditions on the notice immediately. Some must be satisfied before work starts, such as agreeing a development contribution or submitting final details. You can appeal against a condition alone, and the time limit for that is the same four weeks, so do not wait for the final grant to read them.

For money, the practical rule is simple. A lender’s letter of offer and a staged drawdown usually require the final grant, not the decision. A bank that has seen a notification may still ask for the grant before releasing funds.

A common mistake

Ordering materials or booking a digger as soon as the email arrives. If a neighbour appeals, you may wait months, or the board may refuse. Wait for the grant, and check that the conditions you can live with are really the conditions in it.