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Planning applications · Co. Donegal

Planning permission in Co. Donegal: 616 applications

616 planning applications were lodged within 2 km of the centres of 4 towns in Co. Donegal in the last three years, 13 of them for ten homes or more (682 units). Below: how to search the Co. Donegal register, the busiest towns, the largest schemes on file, and what to check around one house before you bid.

Figures compiled from the public records listed at the foot of this page. Data snapshot: . Updated when the records change.

Check one house in Co. Donegal

616 planning applications around 4 towns in Co. Donegal in three years, 13 for ten homes or more.

One specific house in Co. Donegal: planning applications within 300 m of that Eircode, the house's own planning file, flood zone, radon, BER, sale history. Thirty-eight checks in all, each linked to the public record.

€19.99, free snapshot first. No account.

Or read the sample report first: a real house, 16 pages.

616

planning applications within 2 km of 4 town centres in the last three years

13

of them for 10 homes or more

682

residential units in those large applications

How to search planning applications in Co. Donegal

Short answer: open the National Planning Application Map on MyPlan.ie, type the address or Eircode, and every application lodged with any council appears as a dot you can click. For the full file (drawings, reports, conditions, appeal) go to the council’s own register, Donegal County Council. Both are free.

  1. National map first. Search the address on the National Planning Application Map (MyPlan.ie), then zoom out to the 300 m around it. Each dot is an application with its reference number, description and decision.
  2. Then the council register. Search by the reference number, the address or a map area on the Donegal County Council register.
  3. Donegal County Council: search planning applications. The council uses the shared ePlanning system, so the search works the same way as in 22 other councils: search by reference, by address, by date range or by drawing a box on the map.
  4. Zoning last. The MyPlan.ie zoning map shows what the land around the house is allowed to become under the current development plan, which the register cannot tell you until someone applies.

For a house you are about to bid on, the paid report does all three for the Eircode: every application within 300 m with its decision, the house’s own planning and building-control files, and the zoning of the fields around it.

Where the planning office is busiest in Co. Donegal

Applications lodged within 2 km of each town centre since 2023, from the national planning register. A high count means an active town, not necessarily housing estates: extensions, one-off rural houses, shopfronts and retention applications all count.

Letterkenny281 applications, 11 large
Buncrana214 applications, 1 large
Bundoran80 applications, 1 large
Lifford41 applications

Largest schemes on file in Co. Donegal

Applications for ten homes or more near the towns above, largest first, with the status recorded on the register when this page was built:

  • 171 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2026-06, further information (Donegal County Council): A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF THE PROVISION OF A TOTAL OF 346 NO. RESIDENTIAL UNITS ALONG WITH THE PROVISION OF A NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE THAT WILL INCORPORATE A CRECHE.
  • 100 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-08, application finalised (Donegal County Council): A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF (A) 260 NO. RESIDENTIAL UNITS, CONSISTING OF 100 NO DWELLINGS AND 160 NO APARTMENTS (B) A NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CONTAINING A SHOP UNIT AND A CRECHE (C) CONSTRUCTIO
  • 94 units, Bundoran, lodged 2025-06, application finalised (Donegal County Council): A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF (1) DEMOLITION OF 2 NO. DETACHED DWELLING HOUSES ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED SHEDS, (2) CONSTRUCTION OF 91 NO. NEW DWELLING HOUSES IN A MIX OF 17 NO. DETACHED DWELLINGS (IN A
  • 68 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-10, application finalised (Donegal County Council): ERECTION OF 82 NO. DWELLING UNITS WITH CONNECTION TO PUBLIC SEWER AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS AS PART OF THE EXISTING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
  • 60 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2026-03, further information (Donegal County Council): (1) CONSTRUCTION OF 60 NO. DWELLINGS, (2) ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS INCLUDING CARPARKING, LANDSCAPED AMENITY AREAS, SURFACED PLAY AREAS AND SEATING AREAS AND (3) ALL ANCILLARY SITE WORKS TO INCLUDE CONNECTION
  • 28 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-11, application finalised (Donegal County Council): REVISIONS TO PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLANNING REF. NOS. 19/51064 & 22/51830 AND EXTENDED UNDER PLANNING REF. NOS. 25/50028 & 25/50027 WITH REVISIONS TO INCLUDE: (1) CHANGE OF HOUSE TYPE ON SITE NOS. 25 TO 52 INCL. (28 NO. DW
  • 14 units, Buncrana, lodged 2024-03, application finalised (Donegal County Council): ERECTION OF 14 NO. SEMI-DETACHED TWO STOREY DWELLINGS, CONNECTION TO EXISTING PUBLIC SERVICES AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
  • 10 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-12, application finalised (Donegal County Council): CONSTRUCTION OF (1) BLOCK A CONTAINING 8 NO. 2 STOREY TERRACED HOUSES WITH 6 NO. APARTMENTS AT LOWER LEVEL OF SITE, BLOCK B CONTAINING 2 NO. SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES AT LOWER LEVEL OF SITE (TOTAL NO. OF UNITS = 16), (2) ALL

A permission that is granted but not yet built is invisible at a viewing. The register shows it. So does the zoning map for the fields around the house, which says what they are allowed to become.

Other checks for Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal is in the Defective Concrete Blocks grant scheme (mica and pyrite in blocks), and the whole county is covered. For a house here, the report flags the scheme and tells you what to ask the seller about block testing.

Other checks for Co. Donegal

Planning applications by town in Co. Donegal

Other counties

GuidePlanning search before buying a house: the three files that matter

Questions people ask

How do I search planning applications in Co. Donegal?
Two ways. The National Planning Application Map on MyPlan.ie carries every council's register on one map: search the address, then look at the streets around it. The planning authority for Co. Donegal is Donegal County Council; each runs its own online planning search with the full file, drawings and decision, on the shared ePlanning.ie system. For a house you are buying, the 300 m around it matters more than the town count.
Which towns in Co. Donegal have the most planning activity?
By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Letterkenny (281), Buncrana (214), Bundoran (80), Lifford (41). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.
Do I need planning permission for an extension in Co. Donegal?
The rules are national, not local. Since 27 July 2026 an extension to the rear of a house is exempt up to 45 square metres (40 before that date), counting every earlier extension, with limits on height, distance from boundaries and the garden left over (at least 25 square metres). Anything to the front, or beyond those limits, needs permission from the council. A Section 5 declaration from the council confirms in writing whether a specific job is exempt. Details in the guide on the 2026 planning exemptions.
Does planning permission nearby change what a house is worth?
A granted permission for a large scheme behind the house can take light, a view or parking, and it means construction traffic for two years. It can also add a school or a shop. Read the description, the decision and the appeal status before you bid. The report lists every application within 300 m of the Eircode with that detail, and checks the house's own planning and building-control file.

Sources

Area figures, compiled from public records. They describe the town or county, not any one house. The paid report checks the exact Eircode.