Sunrooms and conservatories in Galway: planning, conservation areas and builders

Quick answer: a single-storey rear sunroom in Galway city is normally exempt from planning up to 45 m² including earlier extensions, if 25 m² of rear garden is left. Galway City Council has eleven architectural conservation areas, from the medieval city core to Salthill’s Crescent and small terraces on University Road and Presentation Road, where exterior works need more care. Its contribution scheme exempts domestic extensions entirely, so a sunroom that needs permission usually costs €34 in planning fees plus drawings.

A note on words: in Ireland a sunroom usually means a builder’s extension with big windows and a solid, insulated roof; a conservatory is mostly glass; an orangery has solid piers and a roof lantern. Planning law treats all three alike. Our Irish costs guide explains how the choice changes the price.

The national rule: 45 m² to the rear, since 27 July 2026

Most single-storey sunrooms at the back of a house are exempted development under Class 1 of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (S.I. 600 of 2001). For more than 20 years the limit was 40 m². The Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 338 of 2026) raised it to 45 m² from 27 July 2026. The main conditions are:

Class 1 condition	Limit from 27 July 2026
Where it can go	To the rear of the house only (the exemption expressly includes a conservatory)
Floor area	Not more than 45 m², counting every earlier extension built after 1 October 1964, including ones that had planning permission
Above ground floor	Not more than 12 m² (terraced or semi-detached) or 20 m² (detached), and at least 2 m from any boundary
Height	Not higher than the house, with further rules on height, windows near boundaries and roof use
Garden left behind	At least 25 m² of private open space must remain at the back of the house

Sources: S.I. No. 338/2026 (irishstatutebook.ie); Planning permission for altering your house, updated 27 July 2026 (citizensinformation.ie); Circular PLR 02/2026 (gov.ie).

The exemption can be lost for a protected structure (works are exempt only if they would not materially affect its character), in an architectural conservation area (ACA), where exterior works are restricted, or where an earlier permission removed exempted development rights. For a written answer, ask the council for a Section 5 declaration (Section 57 for a protected structure). Our guide to planning permission in Ireland: existing extensions, boundaries and exemption checks walks through the questions.

Galway City or Galway County?

Galway City Council covers the city. Places just outside it, such as Oranmore, Claregalway or Barna, fall under Galway County Council, which has its own development plan and protected structures. This page covers the city, under the Galway City Development Plan 2023–2029.

Galway’s eleven architectural conservation areas

ACA	What it protects
The City Core	The medieval core, with streets and buildings of many periods
Lower Dominick Street	18th and 19th-century buildings and shopfronts between the Corrib and the Eglinton Canal
The Crescent/Sea Road	A sweep of late Georgian-style houses with front and rear gardens
The Long Walk	Quayside houses facing the Claddagh
St. Nicholas Street	A terrace of 19th-century artisans’ dwellings
St. Mary’s Terrace	Two uniform 19th-century Tudor-style terraces
1–6 Dock Road	A Victorian terrace overlooking the docks
Eyre Square	The civic square and its surrounding buildings
11–18 University Road	A 19th-century terrace built for university staff
7–14 Presentation Road	Early 20th-century semi-detached houses
34–38 St. Mary’s Road	Early 20th-century terrace and detached houses

Source: Chapter 8 Built Heritage, Placemaking and Urban Design, draft Galway City Development Plan 2023–2029 (consult.galwaycity.ie).

Several of these ACAs are small groups of houses, so a sunroom at the back of, say, Presentation Road or St. Mary’s Road is squarely inside one. The plan’s policy is to ensure that development within an ACA “respects and enhances” its character, and the exemption regulations restrict exterior works in ACAs. Ask the council before assuming a rear sunroom is exempt.

Protected structures in Galway

The Record of Protected Structures is Appendix 3 of the development plan. The plan notes that a reduced development contribution can apply where changes to a protected structure include a high standard of conservation work, and that Galway’s surviving thatched buildings have their own survey and inventory. As elsewhere, works to a protected structure are exempt only if they would not materially affect its character; a Section 57 declaration gives you the council’s view in writing.

Galway City fees and contributions

Item	Galway City Council
Planning application, house extension	€34 (national fee)
Development contribution on a domestic extension	100% exempt under the Development Contribution Scheme 2020–2026 (also covers granny flats and domestic sheds, stores and garages)
Commencement notice (where required)	€30 per building

Sources: Galway City Council Development Contribution Scheme 2020–2026 (galwaycity.ie); Schedule 9 fees (clarecoco.ie); Building Control Regulations (revisedacts.lawreform.ie).

Building control, BCAR and fees

Exempt or not, every extension must meet the Building Regulations, including energy (Part L) and safe glazing. A commencement notice, filed on the Building Control Management System 14 to 28 days before work starts, is needed where the work needs planning permission; an exempt sunroom does not normally need one. From 27 July 2026 (S.I. 359 of 2026) the BCAR certification rules apply to extensions to a dwelling over 45 m² (40 m² before): compliance documents, a design certificate, an Assigned Certifier and a builder’s undertaking, unless the owner signs an opt-out declaration. The notice costs €30 per building. If you need planning permission, the national fee is €34 for a house extension, or €102 (or €2.50 per m², if greater) to retain one already built.

Sources: Building Control Regulations 1997, article 9 as revised (revisedacts.lawreform.ie); Commencement Notices FAQs (corkcoco.ie); Planning fees payable (clarecoco.ie). Some council pages still show the old 40 m² figure.

Typical private prices

We have not found a reliable sunroom price survey for Galway alone, so use the national ranges in our Irish costs guide: Property Blueprint Co. (August 2026) puts an insulated warm-roof sunroom at €18,000–€35,000 and a basic uPVC conservatory at €8,000–€15,000, and Norman Pratt Conservatories uses €1,000–€2,000 per m² as a rule of thumb for a builder’s sunroom. Bases, electrics, heating and flooring are often extra; see what to include in a realistic budget.

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How to choose a builder in Galway

Check the register. The Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) is becoming a statutory register under the Regulation of Providers of Building Works Act 2022, phased in from 2026 starting with larger housing builders, so a small extension builder may not be on it yet. Ask, and check the register.
Electrics and gas. New circuits should be installed and certified by a Safe Electric registered electrical contractor, and any gas work done by a Registered Gas Installer.
Who signs off? Over 45 m², ask who will be Assigned Certifier, or whether you are being asked to opt out, and whether the price includes VAT, the base, electrics, heating and flooring.
Cooling-off. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 you generally have 14 days to cancel a contract signed away from the builder’s premises, for example at your kitchen table. The CCPC explains the exceptions.
Pay in stages. Tie payments to finished stages rather than paying most of the price up front. Our guide to surveys, contracts and payment stages has a checklist.
Wind and rain. Galway is exposed to Atlantic weather. Ask how the roof, flashings and drainage are detailed, and see our guide to drainage and guttering.

Sunroom, conservatory and glazing firms serving Galway

These businesses appear in public business listings for the Galway area. We have not checked their work, prices, registrations or insurance, and they have not paid to appear.