Sophia HamiltonAn €800 million road scheme in County Donegal entered a formal planning and compulsory purchase process on 14 May 2026, affecting more than 450 landowners — including 34 families facing the acquisition of their homes. The TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project, described by Donegal County Council as "the greatest investment in transport infrastructure in Donegal's history," is a reminder that compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) can arrive with little warning and high financial stakes. Here is what property owners and solicitors need to know.
What Is Happening in Donegal?
The TEN-T project covers three major road sections in northwest Ireland:
- The N15/N13 Ballybofey/Stranorlar urban bypass
- The N56/N13 from Letterkenny to Manorcunningham, including a new Swilly Bridge
- The N14 from Manorcunningham to Lifford and the A5 link crossing into Northern Ireland
The scheme involves more than 60 kilometres of new cycling and walking infrastructure, and around 1,500 acres of land to be acquired from private owners. According to the planning documents published by Donegal County Council on 14 May 2026, approximately 450 individual landowners are affected. Thirty-four homes and four commercial properties face outright acquisition.
A formal eight-week public consultation is now underway. Any affected party — landowner, neighbour, or member of the public — can make a submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála, Ireland's planning authority, which is expected to issue its decision in 2027. Construction is not expected to begin before 2028 at the earliest.
The cross-border dimension of the N14 section also gives the scheme UK relevance: the road connects directly to the A5 in Northern Ireland, a major route linking Derry/Londonderry to Dublin, and a long-debated piece of infrastructure on both sides of the border.
What a Compulsory Purchase Order Means for You
A compulsory purchase order is a legal power that allows a public authority — a local council, a government agency, or a utility company — to acquire private land or property without the owner's consent. CPOs are used for road schemes, rail projects, housing regeneration, flood defence, and other infrastructure works. They exist in both Ireland and the UK, with similar but distinct legal frameworks.
The core principle in both jurisdictions is the same: an owner whose property is acquired compulsorily must be paid compensation equivalent to what the property would have fetched on the open market. This is known as market value compensation. In addition, owners are entitled to claim:
Disturbance payments. Costs directly caused by the acquisition — removal expenses, professional fees, temporary accommodation costs for home-owners, business interruption costs for commercial properties.
Loss payments. In some circumstances, additional payments are available where the acquisition causes particular hardship or where the owner loses a business they could not fully replace with market value compensation alone.
Severance and injurious affection. Where only part of a property is acquired but the remaining land is diminished in value — a farm cut in half by a new road, for instance — the owner can claim for the reduction in value of the retained land.
Your Right to Object
A CPO is not a done deal the moment it is published. Affected parties have formal rights of objection, and these rights are most effectively exercised at the public consultation stage — which in the Donegal case is now open.
In Ireland, objections to a CPO scheme of this scale are made to An Coimisiún Pleanála (formerly An Bord Pleanála). The planning authority is required to consider all valid objections before confirming the order. Grounds for objection include:
- Factual errors in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report
- Failure to consider alternative routes or alignments
- Insufficient justification for the acquisition of specific parcels
- Procedural failures in the notification or consultation process
- Disproportionate impact on individual properties relative to public benefit
In the UK, CPO objections are heard by the Planning Inspectorate, which holds public inquiries for major infrastructure projects. The principles are similar: landowners have the right to make representations, call witnesses, and test the acquiring authority's evidence.
When to Engage a Solicitor
Many landowners receive a CPO notice and assume their situation is fixed. It is not. Professional legal advice at an early stage can make a substantial difference to the compensation received and, in some cases, to whether the acquisition proceeds in its proposed form at all.
A solicitor specialising in compulsory purchase law can:
- Assess whether the statutory notice was served correctly and on time
- Advise on the strength of grounds for objection and whether a public inquiry appearance is worthwhile
- Commission an independent valuation to ensure market value compensation is genuinely reflective of the property's worth
- Negotiate with the acquiring authority — many CPOs are resolved through negotiation rather than formal inquiry
- Ensure all categories of compensation, including disturbance and severance claims, are properly documented and claimed
The acquiring authority's surveyor will calculate and offer compensation. Their starting figure is not always the best available figure. Without an independent expert reviewing the assessment, many claimants accept an offer below what they are entitled to.
The Practical Timeline for Donegal Landowners
The current eight-week consultation period closes in mid-July 2026. Any submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála must be made before that deadline. A formal inquiry, if requested, is likely to be scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027, with a planning decision following in 2027.
This timetable means that affected landowners in Donegal have several months before construction pressure begins. It is enough time to take advice, seek an independent valuation, and — where appropriate — prepare a formal objection. The worst outcome for any affected landowner is to wait until the acquiring authority's surveyors arrive with a final offer.
For property owners near the A5 connection on the Northern Ireland side, UK compulsory purchase rules apply, and the relevant guidance is published on GOV.UK's compulsory purchase overview. The principles — compensation, objection rights, independent valuation — are consistent with the Irish framework.
Expert Zoom connects you with qualified solicitors who specialise in property, compulsory purchase, and planning law, available for consultations across the UK and Ireland.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about compulsory purchase order processes and does not constitute legal advice. If your property is subject to or near a CPO scheme, consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your circumstances.
