Donegal County Council receives return application for Mountcharles apartments

Planning permission is being sought from Donegal County Council for the construction of two-bedroom apartments off Main Street in Mountcharles. 

The listed applicant, Jan Mulla, has applied for the extension to the rear of the existing building to provide two one-bedroom apartments, with an associated bin storage area serving the entire development.

Donegal County Council had granted the applicant permission to build three two-bedroom apartments in the same location in 2024; however, An Coimisiún Pleanála overturned that decision in August 2025.

Regarding the previous proposal, third-party observations by appellants raised concerns that the scale of the development would overlook existing properties and have a “significant negative impact on privacy.”

There were also concerns expressed about fire escape safety, sufficient street parking space, and the capacity of the current sewer system. 

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It was considered in the Commission Order  that the proposed development would “seriously injure the residential amenities of the adjoining property by reason of significant visual obtrusion and overbearing.”

A second reason for the refusal of permission was that the ‘daylight/sunlight study’ submitted with the application was “not sufficient to allow a determination whether the impact of the proposed development would result in a significant adverse impact on the residential amenities of the adjacent residential properties by reason of daylight/sunlight impacts.”

Donegal County Council has set a decision due date for the application for February 6, 2026.