Observation pack · Westmeath County Council
15 Castlemaine St , Athlone , Co. Westmeath
Change of use from class 2 (financial services) to class (medical centre/doctors surgery) together with minor interior alterations and replacement external signage at ground floor
Observations close 9 Oct 2026 14 days left
5 weeks from receipt (received 4 Sept 2026) · s.34 Planning and Development Act 2000 · art. 29 Regulations 2001 · fee €20 · council decision due 29 Oct 2026
The application
- Reference
- 2660468 · full record
- Authority
- Westmeath County Council
- Type
- PERMISSION
- Status
- NEW APPLICATION
- Applicant
- not published by the national dataset — see the council register
- Units
- 0
- Floor area
- —
- Site area
- 93 m²
- Received
- 4 Sept 2026
- We first saw it
- 18 Sept 2026, 15:44
- Decision due
- 29 Oct 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/WestmeathCC/AppFileRefDetails/2660468/0.
- Write your observation.Quote
2660468at 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. Westmeath County Council takes it online with the submission or at the counter.
- Submit before 9 Oct 2026.Online through the register above, or in writing to the Planning Department, Westmeath 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
No current zoning polygon covers this site in the store.
Designations on or near the site
Nothing designated within 100 m of the site.
Nearby precedents within 500 m, last 5 years
Decisions
| Reference | Decision | Decided | Units | Distance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2660319 | Conditional | 10 Aug 2026 | 0 | 455 m | change of use from ground floor retail to restaurant use (180 sq.m.) (including extract flue to rear) |
| 2660308 | Refused | 31 Jul 2026 | 0 | 491 m | development which will consist of: Alterations to the previously approved application granted under Reg. Ref. 21/93 for the following works: (i) construction of a drive-thru to serve the approved coffee shop; (ii) alterations to all external facades to alter glazing, material finishes, opes, and to provide for a collection point; (iii) provision of signage associated with drive-thru; (iv) alterations to internal layout of approved coffee shop; (v) provision of pedestrian access onto MacDiarmada Road and provision of pedestrian crossing to Burgess Park; (vi) relocation of mobility parking spaces and bike parking; (vii) removal of approved outdoor seating area and the provision of a new outdoor seating area along the eastern façade; (viii) landscaping, boundary treatments, signage, drainage and all ancillary works necessary to facilitate the development |
| 2660297 | Conditional | 28 Jul 2026 | 0 | 496 m | the refurbishment and change of use of an existing 2 storey mixed use commercial and residential property into a new café/restaurant over two floors. Works to include the construction of a new single-storey extension to the rear; all associated internal and external alterations to provide new servery, seating areas, kitchen, toilets, associated ancillary accommodation, and new shopfront to the front façade; external landscaping; and all ancillary site development works |
| 2660236 | Conditional | 3 Jul 2026 | 10 | 212 m | development at this site: Our Lady’s Bower Convent, a Protected Structure RPS No. 224 & 223, in the townlands of Aghacocara and Loughanaskin. Lower Road, Athlone. The development consists of an amendment to the previously permitted development (Reg. Ref. 20/7079 and Reg. Ref. 25/39), Part d), from a new residential apartment block on the old tennis courtyards at the south east part of the site, consisting of 22 no. 2-bed, 32 parking spaces and ancillary site works to 10 no. 4-bed detached 2-storey + attic houses and ancillary site works. The area of the site relating to this amendment is c. 0.3 hectares |
| 2660227 | Refused | 29 Jun 2026 | 0 | 166 m | development which will consist of the installation of a single-storey café unit comprising two connected modular structures (20ft containers), incorporating a coffee and food preparation area, customer seating area, and accessible toilet facilities, together with associated site works including internal access roads, car parking, bin storage, signage, landscaping, and all ancillary site development works. The proposal includes a controlled takeaway collection point for customers |
| 2560453 | Conditional | 17 Jun 2026 | 0 | 60 m | Retention Permission for fuel sales from existing office/storage structure, 1no Main I.D Price advertising structure, 1no freestanding advertising signage structure, 4no other signage structures, 1no Air/Water services unit, and Gas Cylinder forecourt display/storage |
| 2560634 | Refused | 20 Feb 2026 | 0 | 57 m | a stand alone beauty parlour at the rear of existing hairdressers. The application will also include retention permission for an extension to the rear of her existing hairdressers and retention permission for two number apartments on the first floor. |
| 2560578 | Conditional | 22 Jan 2026 | 0 | 422 m | a new prefabricated substation building and 2no. distribution charging units within the existing Golden Island Shopping Centre car park to cater for 6no. electric car charging points for 12no. electric car parking spaces to replace 18no. existing car park spaces, along with all associated ancillary site works |
Appeals
| ACP case | Type | Outcome | Decided | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501983 | — | open | 26 Aug 2026 | 491 m |
| 500372 | — | Granted | 20 May 2026 | 368 m |
| 318190 | — | Granted with conditions | 22 Jul 2024 | 453 m |
| 314726 | — | Granted with conditions | 16 Jan 2024 | 327 m |
| 316632 | — | Granted | 5 Sept 2023 | 199 m |
| 311530 | — | Granted with conditions | 9 Jun 2022 | 227 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
- 4 Sept 2026 New application · observations close 9 Oct 2026
- 4 Sept 2026 Decision
Generated from the Planning Register store; nothing was fetched live for this page. Source: national planning dataset, fetched 18 Sept 2026, 15:44. Not legal advice — confirm the deadline with Westmeath County Council before relying on it.