Observation pack · Offaly County Council

Main Street , Birr , Co Offaly

development at this site, Main Street Birr Co Offaly R42 Y9Y5. The Development will consist of Full Planning Permission for change of use of the existing bakery to a Food Takeaway. The proposed development will comprise demolition of the existing rear portion of the property and construction of a new two-storey extension to the rear of the existing property, including signage and all associated site works

Observations close 16 Oct 2026 window closed

5 weeks from receipt (received 11 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20

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: 2660487 · full record
Authority: Offaly County Council
Type: PERMISSION
Status: INCOMPLETED APPLICATION
Applicant: not published by the national dataset — see the council register
Units: 0
Floor area: —
Site area: 73 m²
Received: 11 Sept 2026
We first saw it: 29 Sept 2026, 23:03
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/OffalyCC/AppFileRefDetails/2660487/0.
Write your observation.Quote 2660487 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. Offaly County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
Submit before 16 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Offaly 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
M1 Metro / rail economic corridor	Town Centre/Mixed Use: The purpose of this zoning is to maintain the vitality and viability of existing town and village centres by developing and consolidating centres with an appropriate mix of commercial, recreational, cultural, amenity and residential uses.	birr local area plan 2023 2029	26 Jun 2023 → 26 Jun 2029
M1 Metro / rail economic corridor	Town Centre/Mixed Use: The purpose of this zoning is to maintain the vitality and viability of existing town and village centres by developing and consolidating centres with an appropriate mix of commercial, recreational, cultural, amenity and residential uses.	birr local area plan 2023 2029 variation no 1	26 Jun 2023 → 26 Jun 2029

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: Offaly County Council development plan zoning · fetched 25 Oct 2026, 23:00

Source	Licence	Fetched	Link
Offaly County Council development plan zoning	—	25 Oct 2026, 23:00	open

Designations on or near the site

NIAH-recorded building × 34
Birr Presbyterian Church · house · house
Recorded monument × 5
Historic town · Sheela-na-gig · Cross - Market cross

Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years

Decisions

Reference	Decision	Decided	Units	Distance	Description
2660405	Conditional	24 Sept 2026	0	386 m	development comprising works to the existing 2 No. rugby pitches which includes: 1/Installation of 2 No. prefabricated concrete spectator stands. 2/ Relocation of existing dug-out boxes. 3/Erection of 9 No. floodlighting columns complete with floodlights. 4/Erection of 2m high security fencing. 5/ Erection of 2 No. electronic scoreboards. 6/ Erection of 5 No. ball catcher nets and supporting columns, together with internal crowd control fencing and all associated site works
2645	Refused	6 Jul 2026	4	124 m	THE DEMOLITION OF AN EXISTING TWO STOREY RUIN AND WALLED COMPOUND ON THE SITE OF THE OLD FOUNDRY YARD AND THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 4-UNIT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT CONTAINING 3 TWO STOREY TOWNHOUSES TO THE NORTH-EAST AND A REBUILT TWO STOREY BUILDING TO THE SOUTH-WEST ON MOORPARK STREET CONSISTING OF A TWO BEDROOM DWELLING, VEHICULAR ENTRANCE GATES, BIN AND CYCLE STORAGE. THE PROVISION OF LANDSCAPED PRIVATE OPEN SPACE, 5 CAR PARKING SPACES, PROPOSED BOUNDARY TREATMENTS, PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE, SIGNAGE, CONNECTIONS TO SERVICES AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS
2620	Conditional	1 May 2026	0	11 m	THE CHANGE OF USE OF THE FIRST FLOOR FROM STORAGE TO RESIDENTIAL FOR THE PROVISION OF A PROPOSED 2-BEDROOM APARTMENT, A PROPOSED FIRST FLOOR FIRE EXIT WITH EXTERNAL FIRE ESCAPE STAIRCASE TO REAR, NEW WINDOWS THROUGHOUT, ALL INTERNAL MODIFICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS
2619	Conditional	22 Apr 2026	1	338 m	THE CHANGE OF USE OF TWO OUTBUILDINGS TO THE REAR OF THE MAIN RESIDENTIAL CARE BUILDING FROM STORAGE TO ANCILLARY SUPPORT ROOMS, WITH THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT COMPRISING OF COMMON/ MEETING ROOM, STUDY ROOM, GAMES ROOM, STORAGE AND W.C. PERMISSION IS ALSO SOUGHT FOR JOINING THESE TWO EXISTING OUTBUILDINGS WITH A SINGLE STOREY GLAZED LINK, ADJUSTMENTS TO OPES, NEW WINDOWS AND DOORS THROUGHOUT, REROOFING AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS AND INTERNAL MODIFICATIONS. ALL ABOVE PROPOSED WORKS ARE WITHIN THE CURTILAGES OF TWO PROTECTED STRUCTURES IN THE OFFALY COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2021-2027 (RPS REFERENCES 49-223 & 49-224)
2560496	Refused	10 Apr 2026	1	29 m	The development will consist of a change of use from a commercial unit to a 6-bedroom guest house, refurbishment works to a Protected Structure (NIAH Registration No:14819128), and all associated site works.
2560655	Conditional	19 Feb 2026	0	228 m	the change of use of a former night club to additional hotel accommodation, significant alterations to the existing property including partial demolition of sections of the protected structure both internally and externally and all associated site development works to complete the development. The proposed development includes works to a protected structure OCC RPS No. 53-201 NIAH Reg. No. 14819009
2510	Conditional	23 Jan 2026	0	338 m	THE LINKING OF TWO EXISTING DWELLINGS (PROTECTED STRUCTURES 49-223 & 49-224), INTERNAL WORKS, WINDOW AND DOOR OPE MODIFICATIONS AND A SINGLE STOREY EXTENSION TO THE REAR. THE CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLINGS TO A SINGLE SOCIAL CARE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COMPRISING OF 10 BEDROOMS, COMMON AREAS AND ASSOCIATED FACILITIES. PERMISSION FOR THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT WILL CONSIST OF BOUNDARY WALLS TO THE REAR AND THE COMPLETION OF THE RESTORATION WORKS OF THE DERELICT OUTBUILDING AS PER PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLANNING REF: 2269 INCLUDING ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS. ALL ABOVE PROPOSED WORKS ARE WITHIN THE CURTILAGES OF TWO PROTECTED STRUCTURES IN THE OFFALY COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2021-2027 (RPS REFERENCES 49-223 & 49-224)
2560506	Conditional	15 Dec 2025	0	336 m	The construction of an extension and alterations to the existing Playground Tree House and all associated site development works to complete the development within the grounds of Birr Castle. The proposed development is within the curtilage of protected structures OCC RPS No. 49-302 through to 49-311 (NIAH Reg. No. 14819257, 14819258, 14819269, 14819270, 14819272, 14819275, 14819276, 14819277, 14819278, and 14819279)

Appeals

ACP case	Type	Outcome	Decided	Distance
501797	—	pending	31 Jul 2026	124 m
501779	—	Invalid	28 Jul 2026	124 m
323572	—	open	4 Sept 2025	345 m
319628	—	Refused	8 Nov 2024	129 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

11 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 16 Oct 2026
11 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 Offaly County Council before relying on it.