Planning Permission Ireland
GrantedChange of useDecided 11 September 2019

CONNAUGHT STREET, BIRR, CO. OFFALY

Amalgamation and change of use of two protected buildings in Birr to expand a bookmakers and create two apartments.

18531 · Offaly County Council · Lodged 28 November 2018

Reference
18531
Authority
Offaly County Council
Register status
Decided
Type
PERMISSION
Received
28 November 2018

Summary

AI-generated

The project involves changing the ground floor of one premises to a bookmakers and amalgamating it with an existing bookmakers. The upper floors will be converted into two 2-bedroom apartments, alongside external refurbishment of the protected structures.

Change of useprotected structureapartmentstown centre
Residential units
2

Generated from the description above by an AI model and may contain mistakes. The council’s description is the authoritative record.

Official record

Development description

(i) change of use of the eastern premises at ground floor level from residental with ancillary commercial use to that of a bookmakers; (ii) amalgamation of two properties at ground floor level to faciliate extension of the existing bookmakers shop to the west into the adjoining property to the east; (iii) change of use of the western premises (existing bookmaker's) at first floor from office to residential use and a small area of the ground floor from a bookmakers to residential use (10sqm) to provide for a 2 bed apartment unit; (iv) reconfiguration of the first floor of the adjoining building to the east and a small area of the ground floor (8sqm) to provide for a 2 bed apartment unit; (v) external works to include: (a) refurbishment & modification works to connaught street facade including replacement of existing pvc windows with timber sash windows and the refurbishment of existing doors and shopfront and (b) upgrade works to the rear and side facades, including the formation of first floor amenity spaces for residential units; and (vi) all associated site works. The two buildings are listed on the record of protected structures (rps: 53-281 & 53-282) within birr town & environs development plan 2010-2016 (extended to 2020)

Land-use zoning

What this land is zoned for

Town Centre/Mixed UseRE
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.

National zoning type: Mixed Use, general development, opportunity/proposal site

Objective set by the Birr Local Area Plan 2023-2029 (2023–2029). The planning authority decides each application on its own merits — this is the zoning context, not a compliance assessment.

Read the zoning objectives in the development plan

Built & sold

What happened next

Beyond the decision: whether this development was built, and what property here has sold for.

Built — construction complete

A commencement notice records works starting on 4 January 2021. A completion certificate was lodged on 26 October 2022.

Notified floor area: 416

Recent sales nearby

within 500 m
Residential Property Price Register sales within 500 metres of this site
AddressDatePriceDistance
Connaught Street, Birr, County OffalyOct 2025€353,00023 m
The Beauty Parlour, Johns Place, BirrNov 2025€100,00074 m
Emmet St, Birr, OffalyMay 2026€130,000172 m
19 Emmett Street, Birr, County OffalyApr 2025€195,000196 m
Johns Place, Birr, OffalyJun 2025€260,000198 m
27 Emmet St, Birr, OffalyJun 2025€255,000235 m
Property B, Castle St, BirrAug 2025€109,650250 m
Property A, Castle Street, BirrAug 2025€100,000250 m

Nearby properties, not this site — a guide to local values.

Sources: Building Control Management System (commencement notices) and the Residential Property Price Register, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Records are matched to this application by location and may not be exhaustive; always confirm against the official source before relying on them.

Key dates

Timeline

  1. Application received28 November 2018
  2. Further information requested30 January 2019
  3. Further information received26 July 2019
  4. Decision due12 September 2019
  5. Decision issued11 September 2019
  6. Grant issued17 October 2019
  7. Permission expiry16 October 2024

In the area

Applications near this site

Other planning applications within about 500 m — what else is being proposed or built nearby.

Related developments

Similar applications

Ranked by what these developments actually propose, not by matching words — so you can see how comparable applications were decided.

Community

Discussion

What local people think about this application.

Nobody watching yet

Community sentiment

No votes yet

Nobody has voted on this application yet.

Community sentiment — a straw poll of people who visited this page, not a statutory submission. To make a valid observation you must submit it to the planning authority.

Sign in to have your say on this application.

No comments yet. Be the first to say what you think about this application.

Sign in to join the discussion on this application.

Comments are moderated and are the opinions of the people who wrote them. They form no part of the statutory planning process — to make a valid observation you must submit it to the planning authority.