Observation pack · Mayo County Council

Formerly Known as 'The Leaping Lizard' , The Fairgreen , County Mayo

Planning Application To Mayo County Council For Permission For (1) Change Of Use From Commercial Unit To Residential Use, (2) New Shop Front Façade, Together With All Site Services At Premises Formerly Known As The ‘Leaping Lizard’, Bridge Street, Westport, County Mayo F28 F856

Observations close 27 Oct 2026 19 days left

5 weeks from receipt (received 22 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 16 Nov 2026

The application

Reference: 2660743 · full record
Authority: Mayo County Council
Type: PERMISSION
Status: NEW APPLICATION
Applicant: not published by the national dataset — see the council register
Units: 0
Floor area: —
Site area: 34 m²
Received: 22 Sept 2026
We first saw it: 29 Sept 2026, 23:03
Decision due: 16 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/MayoCC/AppFileRefDetails/2660743/0.
Write your observation.Quote 2660743 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. Mayo County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
Submit before 27 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Mayo 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 maintain and enhance the vitality, viability and environment of the town centre and provide for appropriate town centre uses.	MA-003:LAP:westport-local-area-plan	8 Jul 2024 → 7 Jul 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: MAYO MA-003:LAP:westport-local-area-plan · fetched 27 Sept 2026, 19:37

Source	Licence	Fetched	Link
MAYO MA-003:LAP:westport-local-area-plan	—	27 Sept 2026, 19:37	open

Designations on or near the site

NIAH-recorded building × 28
canal (section of) · bridge · cobbles/flags/paving/kerbing

Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years

Decisions

Reference	Decision	Decided	Units	Distance	Description
2660561	Conditional	2 Sept 2026	0	465 m	Construction of a new private dwelling, connection to the existing on site services, and all associated site works and landscaping
2660556	Refused	1 Sept 2026	0	0 m	CHANGE OF USE FROM COMMERCIAL UNIT TO PRIVATE USE AND SHORT-TERM RENTAL AND NEW SHOP FRONT FAÇADE, TOGETHER WITH ALL SITE SERVICES AT PREMISES
2660500	Conditional	19 Aug 2026	0	134 m	The development will consist of the construction of a single storey extension to the existing restaurant (May’s Bistro) at the rear courtyard side of the Castlecourt Hotel, together with the relocation of the courtyard entrance to the existing bar (Petie Joe’s), internal modifications and all associated ancillary site works.
2660306	Conditional	9 Jun 2026	0	297 m	Planning permission for proposed garage conversion and two-story extension, including internal layout modifications to the ground and first floors, elevation changes, and all associated site works.
2660279	Conditional	28 May 2026	1	330 m	PLANNING PERMISSION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH CONNECTION TO PUBLIC UTILITIES, TOGETHER WITH ALL ANCILLARY SITE WORKS
2660262	Conditional	25 May 2026	0	249 m	To Construct A First Floor Extension To The Rear Of Existing Dwelling House, Together With All Site Services At The White House, Fairgreen, Westport, Co. Mayo. F28 DC84
2560551	Refused	1 Apr 2026	0	268 m	The development will consist of the construction of 3 no. tourism accommodation units, together with all associated site works.The proposed development is located within an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA).
2660075	Conditional	23 Mar 2026	0	79 m	Demolitions, Alterations and Extension to Existing House which is a Protected Structure (RPS ref: Westport Town 016)

Appeals

ACP case	Type	Outcome	Decided	Distance
500916	—	Granted	24 Jun 2026	228 m
320658	—	Granted with conditions	4 Nov 2025	68 m
322639	—	Refused	25 Sept 2025	85 m
323290	—	Invalid	2 Aug 2025	384 m
320647	—	Granted	16 Sept 2024	68 m
320657	—	Invalid	26 Aug 2024	68 m
314616	—	Refused	31 Oct 2023	299 m
313965	—	Granted with conditions	31 Aug 2023	102 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

22 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 27 Oct 2026
22 Sept 2026 Decision

Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 29 Sept 2026, 23:03. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Mayo County Council before relying on it.