Observation pack · Laois County Council
First Floor , No. 6 Market Square , Portlaoise Co. Laois
develop first Floor, No. 6 Market Square, Portlaoise, Co. Laois (Former Portlaoise arms Building Protected Structure RPS no. 227). The application consists of permission for two-by-two bedroomed apartments, winter gardens, amendments to elevations and all associated site works at the first floor of the said property. Access to same is via Abbeyleix road side.
Observations close 22 Oct 2026 window closed
5 weeks from receipt (received 17 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 11 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
- 2660656 · 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
- 224 m²
- Received
- 17 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 22 Sept 2026, 16:10
- Decision due
- 11 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/2660656/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2660656at 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 22 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 | 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 | 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.
Source: Laois County Council development plan zoning · fetched 4 Oct 2026, 23:04
| Source | Licence | Fetched | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laois County Council development plan zoning | — | 4 Oct 2026, 23:04 | open |
Designations on or near the site
- NIAH-recorded building × 23house · Saint Peter's Church · house
- Recorded monument × 1R184847
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2660380 | Conditional | 11 Aug 2026 | 0 | 295 m | Retain change of use from dwelling house to office and associated site works |
| 2660264 | Refused | 1 Jul 2026 | 1 | 456 m | demolish existing sheds. Permission is also sought to erect a new dwelling house to the rear of the existing dwelling, a new connection to existing services and all associated works. |
| 2660008 | Conditional | 22 May 2026 | 76 | 352 m | carry out development which will consist of: A proposed residential and commercial development on a brownfield site of 4.96 hectares to include the construction of 217 no. single to four storey residential units; 2 No. mixed use three storey commercial buildings to accommodate a creche, ground floor retail units, restaurant, and office space; a new roads layout with two new vehicular entrances off Harpur’s Lane and Mountrath Road; a dedicated pedestrian and cycle link traversing the site between the two road entrances; a DMURS compliant raised platform junction at the vehicular entrance onto Harpur’s Lane and a courtesy type pedestrian crossing further to the west on Harpur’s Lane; an additional service exit onto Mountrath Road adjacent to the proposed mixed use commercial building; associated footpaths, traffic calming, carparking, street lighting, paving, landscaping with integrated children’s playground, drainage, bin storage, and bicycle storage throughout the development; free standing ESB substations; a connection to the existing public services; and all associated ancillary site development works.The proposed development will involve the demolition of: 3 no. former fuel islands; 1 no. former fuel offloading area; the removal of underground fuel tanks and associate underground pipework; and the foundations of the former shopping centre. The proposed 217 no. residential units to consist of 74 houses and 141 apartments (including duplexes) along with 2 no. assisted living units as follows: (a) 9 no. semi-detached 2 storey 4 bed townhouses; (b) 37 no. semi-detached and terraced 2 and 3 storey 3 bed townhouses; (c) 18 no. semi-detached and terraced 2 storey 2 bed townhouses; (d) 10 no. detached and semi-detached 2 bed single storey lifetime homes; (e) 2 no. detached single storey 5 bed assisted living units with in house carer accommodation; and (f) 29 no. 1 bed, 61 no. 2 bed, and 51 no. 3 bed own door apartments and duplex apartments in three and four storey blocks. The proposed 2 no. mixed use 3 storey commercial buildings to consist of: (1) a 416.6sq.m creche over two floors to accommodate 61 children and support staff with dedicated playground with separate 359.8sq.m office space and ancillary accommodation to first and second floors with separate entrance at ground level; and (2) a separate 2,208.9sq.m 3 storey commercial building with public plaza facing onto Mountrath Street consisting of 511.5sq.m of ground floor retail space, a 311.5sq.m res |
| 2560894 | Conditional | 18 May 2026 | 0 | 352 m | Construct an aparthotel five storeys in height. The aparthotel will consist of 25no. guest suites comprising of 13no. 1-bedroom suites and 12no. 2-bedroom suites, refuse store, bicycle store, service room, ESB substation, and rooftop amenity terrace at third floor level. The development will also consist of associated hard & soft landscaping, an external generator, boundary treatments, car parking, bicycle parking, vehicle access to the existing estate road, and all associated site works. The development will consist of works which are within the curtilage of a protected structure (NIAH reference number - 12504235, record of protected structures reference number - RPS 185_B) |
| 2560770 | Refused | 18 May 2026 | 0 | 234 m | Intensify the usage of the creche, located at the Maltings, Harpurs Lane Portlaoise previous planning grant reference 24/60056. The existing planning accommodates 22 children, and the new application is designed to accommodate 58 children. The car parking for staff has been increased. The play area has also been revised. |
| 2560884 | Conditional | 17 Apr 2026 | 0 | 234 m | modify the granted planning 25/60636 for the construction of a new two-storey property manager office building development on lands at Harpur’s Lane, Portlaoise, Co. Laois (part of former Minch Norton Maltings). The proposed development seeks to increase the previously granted office building area from 41.8m2 to 74.90m2 to serve as the administrative headquarters for The Maltings and Granary Management Company by adding an extra storey. By increasing the size of the building and adding a first floor we have added an additional maintenance area on the ground floor along with an additional toilet from the previous granted planning 25/60636. |
| 2660068 | Conditional | 2 Apr 2026 | 0 | 385 m | Change of Use from a single-storey, shop store (previously a launderette facility) to Natural Salt Wellness Rooms. The proposed development is accessed through the existing retail shop at No. 99 Main Street and alleyway between two protected structures Ramsbottom's Pub (no. 101 Main Street- RPS 210) and Marian Carton Optician (No. 100 Main Street -RPS211). Upgrading works include replacement windows, universal access and toilet, bicycle parking and refuse storage. The proposed development is located within an architectural conservation area |
| 2560683 | Conditional | 9 Dec 2025 | 0 | 251 m | retain fuel sales in existing office /storage structure, various freestanding and wall mounted signage elements, 1no above ground plastic HVO tank & dispenser, and lubricant/fuel forecourt displays. |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501545 | — | Granted | 8 Oct 2026 | 234 m |
| 324341 | — | Withdrawn | 18 Aug 2026 | 352 m |
| 322630 | — | Granted with conditions | 29 Sept 2025 | 379 m |
| 316799 | — | Other | 8 Sept 2023 | 413 m |
| 314289 | — | Refused | 1 Sept 2022 | 203 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
- 17 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 22 Oct 2026
- 17 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.