Plans lodged for over 200 homes, shops and restaurant in Portlaoise

Plans for a major housing development and shops have been lodged on the site of a former shopping centre in Portlaoise town. 

Centrepoint Partners are proposing to build 217 homes consisting of apartments and houses, a creche, restaurant, shops and office space on the 4.96 hectare Centrepoint Shopping Centre site at Maryborough in Portlaoise. 

The plans which were lodged with Laois County Council today(Wednesday, January 7) would see a complete redevelopment of the Centrepoint site which had been a landmark retail location for the midlands before its closure in 2008. 

The latest plans include the removal of underground fuel tanks at the site which the Council unsuccessfully attempted to have placed on the Vacant Sites register in 2019.   A blaze at the site in March of 2021 resulted in the Council requesting the owners seal off the site to prevent any anti-social behaviour or incidents at the property. 

However, issues at the site are still regularly brought up at Council meetings due to its unsightly appearance. Last September concerns were raised over flooding at the location and the Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley branded the site an “eyesore”. 

As recently as last November, the Leinster Express/Laois Live reported that Cllr Dwane Stanley had again raised local concerns about the site at a Council meeting. 

Now ambitious new plans lodged with the Council look set to completely transform the large site near the centre of Portlaoise.  

The development will consist of: “A proposed residential and commercial development on a brownfield site of 4.96 hectares to include the construction of 217 no. single to four storey residential units; 2 No. mixed use three storey commercial buildings to accommodate a creche, ground floor retail units, restaurant, and office space”.

There are also plans for “a new roads layout with two new vehicular entrances off Harpur’s Lane and Mountrath Road; a dedicated pedestrian and cycle link traversing the site between the two road entrances; a DMURS compliant raised platform junction at the vehicular entrance onto Harpur’s Lane and a courtesy type pedestrian crossing further to the west on Harpur’s Lane; an additional service exit onto Mountrath Road adjacent to the proposed mixed use commercial building; associated footpaths, traffic calming, carparking, street lighting, paving, landscaping with integrated children’s playground, drainage, bin storage, and bicycle storage throughout the development; free standing ESB substations; a connection to the existing public services; and all associated ancillary site development works”. 

According to the planning application, “the proposed development will involve the demolition of: 3 no. former fuel islands; 1 no. former fuel offloading area; the removal of underground fuel tanks and associate underground pipework; and the foundations of the former shopping centre.” 

The 217 homes will consist of 74 houses, 141 apartments including duplexes and two assisted living units. The properties will be made up of nine semi-detached two storey 4 bed townhouses;  37  semi-detached and terraced two and three storey 3 bed townhouses; 18  semi-detached and terraced two storey 2 bed townhouses; 10  detached and semi-detached 2 bed single storey lifetime homes; Two detached single storey 5 bed assisted living units with in-house carer accommodation. The apartments will consists of  29  one bed, 61  two bed, and 51  three bed own door apartments and duplex apartments in three and four storey blocks. 

READ MORE: Plans due for 'biggest eyesore in town'

Two planned mixed use three storey commercial buildings will consist of a 416.6sq.m creche over two floors to accommodate 61 children and support staff with dedicated playground with separate 359.8sq.m office space and ancillary accommodation to first and second floors with separate entrance at ground level; and a separate 2,208.9sq.m three storey commercial building with public plaza facing onto Mountrath Street consisting of 511.5sq.m of ground floor retail space and a 311.5sq.m restaurant

The ambitious plans are at pre pre-validation stage with Laois County Council and a decision is expected to be made in March this year.