Observation pack · Meath County Council
Stephen Murtagh & Sons Hardware Store , Fredrick Street , Ashbourne Co. Meath
planning permission sought for change of use from existing first floor restaurant with ground floor stair/lift-well entrance & secondary escape stairs, into 2no. Apartments and part ground floor retail space. There will be 1no. 2 bedroom apartment (area = 74.58sq.m) complete with 9.7sq.m. of enhanced private open space / covered terrace area to the S.West/S.East corner & 1no. 3 bedroom apartment (area = 100.09sq.m.) complete with 12.72sq.m. of enhanced private open space / covered terrace area to the S.West/N.West corner. There will 4no. new & 2no. repositioned velux roof windows to the front / S.West elevation with existing solar panels repositioned where required. The existing secondary escape stairs will be removed & the remaining stairwell at ground floor level (13.57sq.m.) will be opened up into additional retail floor space for the existing Hardware Store, together with all associated site works
Observations close 27 Oct 2026 10 days left
5 weeks from receipt (received 21 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20
The application
- Reference
- 2661173 · full record
- Authority
- Meath County Council
- Type
- PERMISSION
- Status
- INCOMPLETED APPLICATION
- Applicant
- not published by the national dataset — see the council register
- Units
- 0
- Floor area
- —
- Site area
- 7,105 m²
- Received
- 21 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 7 Oct 2026, 01:19
- 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/MeathCC/AppFileRefDetails/2661173/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2661173at 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. Meath 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, Meath 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 | B1 - Commercial Town or Village Centre: Commercial Town or Village Centre | meath county development plan 2021 2027 | 3 Nov 2021 → 2 Nov 2027 |
| R2 Existing residential | A1 - Existing Residential: Existing Residential | meath county development plan 2021 2027 | 3 Nov 2021 → 2 Nov 2027 |
| M2 Major town centre | B1 - Commercial Town or Village Centre: Commercial Town or Village Centre | meath county development plan 2021 2027 as varied | 3 Nov 2021 → 2 Nov 2027 |
| R2 Existing residential | A1 - Existing Residential: Existing Residential | meath county development plan 2021 2027 as varied | 3 Nov 2021 → 2 Nov 2027 |
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: Meath County Council development plan zoning · fetched 4 Oct 2026, 23:04
| Source | Licence | Fetched | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meath County Council development plan zoning | — | 4 Oct 2026, 23:04 | open |
Designations on or near the site
- NIAH-recorded building × 2Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception · Ashbourne Parish Hall
- Radon risk area × 2About 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels · About 1 in 20 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels
- OPW flood extent nearby floodinfo.ieShown as a flag only — the OPW licence does not allow us to redistribute the extent.
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2660065 | Conditional | 20 Jul 2026 | 0 | 148 m | the development will consist of change of use from retail unit to restaurant, comprising of indoor seating with licensed bar and outdoor seating area with retractable awning |
| 2660364 | Conditional | 26 May 2026 | 0 | 132 m | the development will consist of single storey extension to front / side of existing dwelling including modifications to elevations and existing internal plan layout to facilitate a granny flat / independent living space. The development also includes removal of existing chimney, external wall insulation, widening of existing entrance gate together with all associated site works |
| 2560405 | Conditional | 30 Mar 2026 | 1 | 170 m | The development will consist of: •The change of use of 1508sqm of carpark on Levels 2.5 and 3.5 (rooftop) of the multistorey car park to a new two storey primary health care centre; To include demolition of the existing car park roof over level 3.5, removal of internal staircases (all levels) and part removal of floors to levels 2.5 and 3.5 of the multistorey carpark to provide for new courtyard at level 1 with two storey void overhead; Partial demolition and provision of new windows (3no. at level 1, 1no. at level 2.5 and 1no. at level 3.5) and new 3 storey rendered panel to correspond with 2no. new lift shafts on north gable wall; Removal of existing guardrails and widening of existing openings at level 2.5 (car park) on front elevation to Killegland Street; • Construction of new two storey 1325sqm primary health care centre at levels 2.5 and 3.5 (including a single storey extension / additional floor at level 3.5 and new pedestrian access from carpark level 3.5) to include consulting rooms, offices, ancillary accommodation / toilets and rooftop plant and associated protective / screen fencing; • Construction of new 53sqm two storey extension to the side north gable elevation at ground and first floor levels to provide new entrance and fire escape at ground floor and including circulation / stairs; To include signage over entrance door and within windows at levels 1 and 2.5 all facing towards Killegland Street; • Change of use and subdivision of 705sqm of existing commercial mezzanine floor at Level 1 to commercial office use (non-medical), and 505sqm to leisure/ recreation uses, all with ancillary accommodation / toilets, and new internal fire escape staircases and circulation links; • Alterations to existing road and footpath layouts at the 2no. one way adjacent road exits from the multistorey carparks along the north elevation; alterations to existing waste storage to rear to accommodate new secured medical waste area and all necessary site, internal and drainage alterations. • Allocation of 70no. existing carparking spaces for primary healthcare consultation rooms/leisure recreation uses on levels 3.5 and 4, plus allocation of 28no. existing carparking spaces for the proposed office use on levels 1/1.5 in the existing attached multistorey carpark. |
| 2660056 | Conditional | 9 Mar 2026 | 0 | 408 m | planning permission for the construction of a one and a half storey extension to the Front, side and rear of the existing dwelling house and all associated site works |
| 2660062 | Conditional | 6 Mar 2026 | 0 | 451 m | planning permission for alterations to previously approved planning permission – (Reg. Ref: 25/6021 (a) a ground floor extension to the front with flat roof over (b) removal of existing pitched roof over existing ground floor extension to the front to be replaced with flat roof over (c) a first-floor extension to the side with hip roof over (d) a new first floor window to the rear bathroom (e) 2no. new rooflights to the rear pitched roof (f) all associated alterations to the existing fenestration and (g) all associated site works) consisting of the addition of a first floor extension to the front with hip roof over and a new dormer window to the rear pitched roof to serve attic storage space and all associated site works |
| 2560170 | Refused | 24 Oct 2025 | 0 | 387 m | the construction of 68 no. ”Age Friendly” (Independent living for over 55’s) residential units to include: Block A – 4 Storey apartment block consisting of a total of 35 units comprising 16 No. 1-bedroom units, 19 No. 2-bedroom units, ESB Switch room, plant room, laundry room, storage room and communal bin store. Block B – 5 Storey apartment block consisting of a total of 33 units comprising 9 No. 1-bedroom units, 20 No. 2-bedroom units, 4 No. studio-units, communal day room, kitchen, management office, storage room, plant room, secure bicycle room, communal bin store, community care room, GP consultation room and for the demolition of existing two storey dwelling house and all associated site works to include for permission for alterations to existing roadside boundary and associated footpath to accommodate the subject development. Signifiant further information/revised plans submitted on this application. |
| 2560771 | Conditional | 12 Sept 2025 | 0 | 284 m | internal modifications, amendments to elevations and construction of a single storey extension to the rear existing dormer bungalow dwelling with demolition of existing shed/garage and construction of new garden gym/office associated landscaping & site works |
| 2560487 | Conditional | 22 Aug 2025 | 1 | 419 m | Attic conversion for storage use including raised gable to the side and three rooflights to the front roof slope. Two-storey side extension incorporating conversion of existing garage to a playroom at ground floor level with a new front-facing windows. Single-storey flat-roof extension to the rear. |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 324291 | — | pending | 18 May 2026 | 176 m |
| 500311 | — | Refused | 1 Apr 2026 | 387 m |
| 323961 | — | open | 17 Dec 2025 | 448 m |
| 321747 | — | Granted with conditions | 2 Dec 2025 | 103 m |
| 323181 | — | Granted with conditions | 19 Nov 2025 | 297 m |
| 319382 | — | Refused | 19 Dec 2024 | 425 m |
| 318842 | — | Granted with conditions | 21 Jun 2024 | 425 m |
| 317202 | — | Refused | 20 Mar 2024 | 313 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
- 21 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 27 Oct 2026
- 21 Sept 2026 Decision
Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 7 Oct 2026, 01:19. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Meath County Council before relying on it.