Observation pack · Laois County Council
MDA Business Park , Irishtown , Mountmellick
remodel and extend existing carpark to include a tarmac surface, EV parking and charging units, bike parking and bike shelter, remodel existing site entrance & internal road network, public lighting, footpaths, soft areas, underground storm water attenuation tank and all associated site works. This development is within the curtilage of protected structure RPS 703.
Observations close 13 Oct 2026 3 days left
5 weeks from receipt (received 8 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 2 Nov 2026
The application
- Reference
- 2660626 · full record
- Authority
- Laois County Council
- Type
- PERMISSION
- Status
- NEW APPLICATION
- Applicant
- not published by the national dataset — see the council register
- Units
- 0
- Floor area
- —
- Site area
- 1.28 ha
- Received
- 8 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 18 Sept 2026, 15:44
- Decision due
- 2 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/LaoisCC/AppFileRefDetails/2660626/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2660626at 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. Laois County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
- Submit before 13 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Laois 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| G4 Open space | Open Space and Amenity: To preserve, provide for and improve active and passive recreational public and private open space. | LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027 | 8 Mar 2022 → 7 Mar 2028 |
| M2 Major town centre | Town Centre (Primary / Core Retail Area): To protect and enhance the special physical and social character of the existing town centre and to provide for and improve retailing and commercial activities | LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027 | 8 Mar 2022 → 7 Mar 2028 |
| G4 Open space | Open Space/Amenity: To preserve, provide for and improve active and passive recreational public and private open space. | LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3 | 8 Mar 2022 → 7 Mar 2028 |
| M2 Major town centre | Town Centre (Primary / Core Retail Area): To protect and enhance the special physical and social character of the existing town centre and to provide for and improve retailing and commercial activities | LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3 | 8 Mar 2022 → 7 Mar 2028 |
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: LAOIS LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027, LAOIS LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027, LAOIS LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3, LAOIS LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3 · fetched 27 Sept 2026, 19:37
| Source | Licence | Fetched | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAOIS LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027 | — | 27 Sept 2026, 19:37 | open |
| LAOIS LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027 | — | 27 Sept 2026, 19:37 | open |
| LAOIS LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3 | — | 4 Oct 2026, 23:04 | open |
| LAOIS LS-003:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027-including-ministerial-direction-as-varied-by-variation-no-1-no-2-and-no-3 | — | 4 Oct 2026, 23:04 | open |
Designations on or near the site
- NIAH-recorded building × 1Park Street
- Recorded monument × 1R184840
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2660022 | Conditional | 17 Jul 2026 | 0 | 354 m | construct 1) two Velux rooflights to the rear of the existing roof, 2) minor adjustments to the rear first floor windows of the existing property, 3) the construction of, two, two bedroom apartments over two storey’s to the rear of the existing property and Retention permission for a concrete stair also to the rear of the existing property, together with all associated site works. |
| 2660216 | Conditional | 12 Jun 2026 | 0 | 370 m | retain fuel shed, tool store, garden room and home gym, together with all ancillary services |
| 2660069 | Conditional | 7 Apr 2026 | 0 | 223 m | 1. the change of use from hairdressers to coffee shop and associated services. 2. the demolition of a single storey extension to the rear of the premises and 3.construction of a 2 storey extension to accommodate an internal stair serving the premises above the shop to include all associated siteworks at 10 Patrick Street, Mountmellick, Co. Laois. R32 DX85. |
| 2560333 | Conditional | 1 Apr 2026 | 0 | 256 m | carry ou development for a Discount Foodstore Supermarket with ancillary off-licence sales at Emmett Street, Mountmellick, Co. Laois (comprising the former Central / Nissan Garage complex, including nos. 4-7 Emmett Street and Eircodes R32 Y820, R32 YF79, R32 P234, R32 WR28 and R32 WK06, also bounding O’Moore Street and Twomey Terrace). The proposed development comprises: 1) The demolition of 8 no. existing vacant buildings (including single storey, two storey, detached, semi-detached and terraced configurations), removal of additional ancillary / derelict structures and associated site clearance; 2) The construction of a part single part two storey Discount Foodstore (with ancillary off-licence use) with mono-pitch roof measuring c. 2,201 sqm gross floor space with a net retail sales area of c. 1,457 sqm; 3) Construction of associated car and cycle parking with revised main site access from (and associated works on) Emmett Street. Existing site accesses to the rear lane of Twomey Terrace will be removed. Existing site access to O’Moore Street will remain in situ; and, 4) Provision / repair / replacement (as required) of boundary treatments, free standing and building mounted signage, free standing trolley bay, roof mounted refrigeration and air conditioning plant and equipment, hard and soft landscaping, public lighting, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, roof mounted solar panels, ESB substation, drainage, utility and services infrastructure and connections, and all other associated and ancillary development and works above and below ground level. A Natura Impact Statement has been submitted to the planning authority with the application. |
| 2560261 | Conditional | 4 Feb 2026 | 0 | 235 m | retain 3 No. Refrigeration Containers, 1No. Storage Container, 1No. Warehouse, 1No. Portable Office Cabin and all associated site works. |
| 2560807 | Conditional | 4 Feb 2026 | 1 | 321 m | This Development Will Consist of (A) Retention Planning Permission for New Vehicular Entrance & Start of Rear Extension to Subfloor Level & (B) Planning Permission to Complete Single Storey Rear Extension and all associated site works |
| 2560336 | Conditional | 14 Jan 2026 | 0 | 0 m | Change of use from Heritage Centre to Childcare facility. |
| 2560142 | Conditional | 16 Sept 2025 | 1 | 158 m | construct a proposed single storey apartment/townhouse development of 7 no. 1 bedroom units and associated works located to the rear of an existing two storey mixed use building being a protected structure RPS 035 NIAH 12900343. The proposed development is located behind the existing former house and associated buildings but within the curtilage of the protected structure |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501222 | — | pending | 24 Apr 2026 | 256 m |
| 322910 | — | Granted with conditions | 29 Oct 2025 | 376 m |
| 323830 | — | pending | 28 Oct 2025 | 0 m |
| 321277 | — | Granted with conditions | 20 Mar 2025 | 105 m |
| 319036 | — | Refused | 23 Sept 2024 | 334 m |
| 316273 | — | Refused | 13 Mar 2024 | 180 m |
| 315847 | — | Granted with conditions | 14 Feb 2024 | 295 m |
| 314805 | — | Granted with conditions | 26 Oct 2023 | 171 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
- 8 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 13 Oct 2026
- 8 Sept 2026 Decision
Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 18 Sept 2026, 15:44. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Laois County Council before relying on it.