Observation pack · Galway County Council

Loughrea , Bride Street , Co. Galway

for restoration of an existing terraced dwelling, construction of a 2-storey extension to the rear of the existing dwelling, all associated works. The site is located within an Architectural Conservation Area

Observations close 21 Oct 2026 23 days left

5 weeks from receipt (received 16 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 10 Nov 2026

The application

Reference: 2661564 · 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: 183 m²
Site area: 543 m²
Received: 16 Sept 2026
We first saw it: 22 Sept 2026, 16:10
Decision due: 10 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/2661564/0.
Write your observation.Quote 2661564 at 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 21 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
M1 Metro / rail economic corridor	Commercial/Mixed Use: To provide for the development of commercial and complementary mixed uses, on suitable lands that can provide focal points for the provision of services to surrounding neighbourhoods/areas and opportunities for commercial enterprises, retail developments	GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030	26 Aug 2024 → 25 Aug 2030
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	GA-001:LAP: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	GA-001:LAP: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.

Sources: GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030, GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030, GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030 · fetched 27 Sept 2026, 19:37

Source	Licence	Fetched	Link
GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030	—	27 Sept 2026, 19:37	open
GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030	—	27 Sept 2026, 19:37	open
GALWAYCO GA-001:LAP:loughrea-local-area-plan-2024-2030	—	27 Sept 2026, 19:37	open

Designations on or near the site

NIAH-recorded building × 2
Rock House · Saint Bride's

Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years

Decisions

Reference	Decision	Decided	Units	Distance	Description
2661328	Conditional	21 Sept 2026	0	398 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	157 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
2661132	Refused	26 Aug 2026	1	0 m	for redevelopment of a site, which is within an Architectural Conservation Area, comprising: provision of an additional 3 no. residential units, bringing the total on site to 4, including the following works: alterations and rear extension to an existing two-storey terraced dwelling which fronts onto Bride Street, including subdivision into 1 no. ground floor apartment and 1 no. first floor apartment as well as widening of existing alleyway to provide sufficient width for car, cyclist and pedestrian access via Bride street; construction of 1 no. new detached 2 storey building to the rear of the site, comprising 2 no. apartments; provision of on-site parking, as well as bin and bicycle store; connection to existing services and all associated site development works
2660657	Conditional	22 Jun 2026	1	357 m	for demolition of the existing single storey rear extension to the dwelling house, construction of a single storey rear extension to the dwelling house, changes and renovations to existing dwelling to include the addition of a window to the side elevation and all site associated services
2561924	Conditional	20 Feb 2026	0	326 m	to 1. Demolish existing derelict house (Plot 2) along with existing shed to rear of site (Plot 3). 2. Permission to complete new 4 bed dwelling house to (Plot 2) and new 3 bed dwelling house to (Plot 3) as approved under planning application PL Ref:23/60266 and 3. connection to existing services along with all associated site works
2561846	Conditional	17 Feb 2026	1	340 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
2561529	Conditional	10 Dec 2025	0	230 m	for change of use of a retail unit granted under 18/775 & 21/1978 to a residential unit
2561139	Conditional	3 Oct 2025	1	40 m	of two semi-detached houses with reduced floor plans previously granted under 18/904

Appeals

ACP case	Type	Outcome	Decided	Distance
322577	—	pending	21 May 2025	138 m
317101	—	Granted with conditions	11 Jul 2024	345 m
312801	—	Invalid	25 May 2023	230 m
313532	—	Invalid	10 May 2022	52 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

16 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 21 Oct 2026
16 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.