Observation pack · Galway County Council
Loughrea , O'Kelly House Castle St , Loughrea
for a change of use of a ground floor commercial unit to a one-bedroom residential unit
Observations close 15 Oct 2026 window closed
5 weeks from receipt (received 10 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 4 Nov 2026
The five-week window has passed. Late observations are returned unread. If the council has decided, the next door is the appeal window — but under s.37 only the applicant and those who made a valid observation may appeal.
The application
- Reference
- 2661539 · full record
- Authority
- Galway County Council
- Type
- PERMISSION
- Status
- NEW APPLICATION
- Applicant
- not published by the national dataset — see the council register
- Units
- 1
- Floor area
- 50 m²
- Site area
- 180 m²
- Received
- 10 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 22 Sept 2026, 16:10
- Decision due
- 4 Nov 2026
- Decision
- N/a
The national dataset truncates descriptions (80 characters for DLR, 70 for Fingal) and omits the applicant. The full description and the drawings are on the council register linked in step 1.
How to submit an observation
- Read the file on the council register.Drawings, planning statement and site notices are at http://www.eplanning.ie/GalwayCC/AppFileRefDetails/2661539/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2661539at the top, give your name and the address the authority should reply to, and confine it to planning matters — zoning objective, height, overlooking, traffic, drainage, heritage. What you say here is what you can later appeal on. - Pay the €20 fee.Every submission needs it; without it the observation is invalid and is returned. Galway County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
- Submit before 15 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Galway County Council. The test is the date the authority receives it, not the date you post it.
- Keep the acknowledgement.The council's receipt is your proof of a valid observation — see below.
Statutory basis. Section 34(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) requires a planning authority to consider any submission or observation made to it in accordance with the Regulations. Article 29 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended) sets the window: a submission or observation must be received by the authority within five weeks beginning on the date of receipt of the application, and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee of €20. A submission received after the window, or without the fee, is invalid and the authority must return it.
After you submit: keep the acknowledgement. Under the 2024 Act it secures your right to appeal — only the applicant and a person who made a valid observation may bring the council's decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála, within four weeks of the decision. Making a valid observation is also what buys a right of appeal: under s.37(1) of the 2000 Act, only the applicant and a person who made a valid submission or observation to the planning authority may appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála (within four weeks of the decision). Missing the five-week window closes both doors.
What the site is zoned
| Code | Objective | Plan | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| M2 Major town centre | Town Centre: To provide for the development and improvement of appropriate town centre uses including retail, commercial, office and civic/community uses and to provide for “Living over the Shop” scheme Residential accommodation, or other ancillary residential ac | loughrea local area plan 2024 2030 | 26 Aug 2024 → 25 Aug 2030 |
| M2 Major town centre | Town Centre - OPT: To provide for the development and improvement of appropriate town centre uses including retail, commercial, office and civic/community uses and to provide for “Living over the Shop” scheme Residential accommodation, or other ancillary residential ac | loughrea local area plan 2024 2030 | 26 Aug 2024 → 25 Aug 2030 |
| N1.5 Airport | Transport Infrastructure: Facilitate the provision and maintenance of essential transportation infrastructure | loughrea local area plan 2024 2030 | 26 Aug 2024 → 25 Aug 2030 |
An application that accords with the zoning objective is hard to resist on principle; one that does not may be a material contravention, which the council can only grant by the s.34(6) procedure with its own notice and window.
Source: Galway County Council development plan zoning · fetched 27 Sept 2026, 19:37
| Source | Licence | Fetched | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galway County Council development plan zoning | — | 27 Sept 2026, 19:37 | open |
Designations on or near the site
- NIAH-recorded building × 2house · Trinity House
- Recorded monument × 2Architectural fragment · R128688
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2661113 | Conditional | 22 Sept 2026 | 0 | 82 m | for the construction of a sports building to accommodate 3 No. padel courts, ancillary uses and all associated site works on a site bounded by a large wall (Protected Structure ‘The Old Barracks’ Galway Co. Co. Ref. No. 1252) shared with an existing retail premises and carpark which abuts an existing watercourse embarkment (Protected Structure ‘The Mill Race’ Galway Co. Co. Ref. No. 3487) all within the Architectural Conservation Area of Loughrea. A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) will be submitted to the Planning Authority with this application |
| 2661328 | Conditional | 21 Sept 2026 | 0 | 224 m | for change of use of 1st and 2nd Floors from office use to Residential use; Retention of side gable window and balcony detail and all associated site works and services |
| 2661214 | Refused | 10 Sept 2026 | 0 | 430 m | for the renovation and conversion of existing three-storey buildings with car parking and green area, total existing building area of circa 3,593m² and the use of these buildings for residential accommodation to include interior alterations, new internal partitions, alterations to window and door openings on the front, rear and side elevations, external communal areas and all associated site works, to the property and building known as ‘Convent of Mercy, Cross Street and Moore Street, Loughrea, Co. Galway. The Main Building of the Convent of Mercy is a Protected Structure Ref. No. 321 on the record of Protected Structures of the Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028. The proposed development will consist of: permission to complete renovations and alterations to the Convent of Mercy outer buildings and main building, the original Protected Structure; conversion and use of the Ground, First and Second floor of the main Convent of Mercy Protected Structure for 33 no. residential units consisting of 8 No. x 2 bed apartments and 24 No. x 1 bed apartments and 1 No. studio apartment along with all associated works; conversion and use of the Ground, First and Second floor of the outer building as 18 no. residential units consisting of 4 No. x 2 bed apartments and 14 No. x 1 bed apartments along with all associated works; carry out all associated elevational changes, including the repair of the roof of the outer building, together with all associated site works. There will not be any increase in the floor area of the building; carry out all associated elevational changes, including the localised repair of the roof area on the protected structure around the existing roof lights, insertion of new roof lights, closure of a number of existing roof lights, together with all associated site works including the provision of new walls, common areas,private amenity and common amenity space, walkways, pathways and roadways throughout the property including the delineation of external car parking areas. There will not be any increase in the floor area of the existing buildings |
| 2660335 | Conditional | 29 Apr 2026 | 2 | 299 m | for (i) the extensive renovation of the existing dwelling at No.2 Mount Carmel Road and the construction of a single-storey extension to the rear of the refurbished dwelling. (ii) The extensive renovation of the existing dwelling at No.3 Mount Carmel Road and the construction of a single-storey extension to the rear of the refurbished dwelling. (iii) The demolition of the existing dwelling at No.4 Mount Carmel Road and the construction of a new replacement dwelling with the addition of a single-storey extension to the rear of the new dwelling |
| 2561846 | Conditional | 17 Feb 2026 | 1 | 290 m | for the change of use of the ground floor commercial unit to residential use, creating one overall complete residential dwelling of the current building and all associated site services |
| 2561869 | Conditional | 17 Feb 2026 | 1 | 144 m | for the construction of a two-storey extension to the rear of existing dwelling house and all associated site services |
| 2561693 | Conditional | 21 Jan 2026 | 0 | 374 m | for extension to side of existing commercial garage and vehicle test centre (east elevation) and all associated site development works |
| 2561599 | Conditional | 16 Dec 2025 | 1 | 15 m | for construction of a three storey building comprising a commercial unit at ground floor and one 3-bedroomed apartment at first and second floor |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321771 | — | Granted with conditions | 29 May 2025 | 437 m |
| 322577 | — | pending | 21 May 2025 | 416 m |
| 312801 | — | Invalid | 25 May 2023 | 332 m |
| 311663 | — | Granted with conditions | 9 Aug 2022 | 83 m |
If neighbours here have appealed before and lost, the inspector's report on that case is the single most useful thing to read.
What has happened on this file
- 10 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 15 Oct 2026
- 10 Sept 2026 Decision
Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 22 Sept 2026, 16:10. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Galway County Council before relying on it.