Observation pack · Laois County Council

13 Sarsfield Street , Mountmellick , -

Change of use from a hair salon to a space used sometimes as residential dwelling, and otherwise used as short-term tourist letting accommodation.

Observations close 20 Oct 2026 18 days left

5 weeks from receipt (received 15 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20

The application

Reference: 2660645 · full record
Authority: Laois County Council
Type: PERMISSION
Status: INCOMPLETED APPLICATION
Applicant: not published by the national dataset — see the council register
Units: 0
Floor area: —
Site area: 445 m²
Received: 15 Sept 2026
We first saw it: 22 Sept 2026, 16:10
Decision due: —
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/2660645/0.
Write your observation.Quote 2660645 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. Laois County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
Submit before 20 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
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

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: LAOIS LS-002:DP:laois-county-development-plan-2021-2027 · 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

Designations on or near the site

NIAH-recorded building × 3
Saint Joseph's Catholic Church · Sarsfield Street · Sarsfield Street
Recorded monument × 1
R184840

Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years

Decisions

Reference	Decision	Decided	Units	Distance	Description
2660069	Conditional	7 Apr 2026	0	464 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.
2560854	Conditional	16 Feb 2026	1	244 m	construct a rear extension, changes to fenestration to parts of existing dwelling, internal alterations and demolition of existing garage
2560807	Conditional	4 Feb 2026	1	449 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	333 m	Change of use from Heritage Centre to Childcare facility.
2560713	Conditional	16 Dec 2025	0	283 m	to alter facades, including variations to shopfronts
2577	Refused	23 Oct 2025	0	475 m	extend duration of Planning Permission Ref. 19/558
2560142	Conditional	16 Sept 2025	1	135 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
2560254	Conditional	23 Jun 2025	2	301 m	CONSTRUCT OF EXTENSIONS, ALTERATIONS AND DEMOLITIONS TO THE EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE, (B) THE DEMOLITION OF EXISTING SHEDS, (C) THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE/SHED AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS.

Appeals

ACP case	Type	Outcome	Decided	Distance
322910	—	Granted with conditions	29 Oct 2025	336 m
323830	—	pending	28 Oct 2025	39 m
321277	—	Granted with conditions	20 Mar 2025	461 m
318012	—	Refused	2 Sept 2024	443 m
316273	—	Refused	13 Mar 2024	461 m
314805	—	Granted with conditions	26 Oct 2023	450 m
317975	—	Invalid	8 Sept 2023	443 m
312814	—	Granted with conditions	16 Dec 2022	354 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

15 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 20 Oct 2026
15 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 Laois County Council before relying on it.