Idle Portlaoise field earmarked for 74 homes and apartments

A private housing development is planned on a controversial piece of development land that Laois County Council had spent years negotiating to buy.

Doran's Field alongside O'Moore Place on the Mountmellick Road in Portlaoise, is the focus of a new planning application.

The plan is for 74 homes, a mix of duplexes, apartments and houses. This includes 24 'duplex' apartments in three storey buildings.

A total of 22 with one and two-bedroom apartments are planned as well as 28 two and three-bedroom two-storey houses.

The development will include 128 car parking spaces and six visitor parking spaces, and "private amenity space".

Aerial drawing of the new housing estate, exiting at the Mountmellick road on the left.

Applicants Hebron Mooncoin Ltd seek permission for "a high-quality residential development".

"The development will deliver 74 new dwellings designed to create a sustainable and vibrant community, supported by
high-quality public open spaces, private amenity areas, and associated infrastructure.

"The site... is well connected to the town’s amenities and public transport routes. The proposal has been guided by the principles of good urban design and compliance with the relevant policies and objectives of the Laois County Development Plan 2021–2027.
"The development promotes connectivity, variety, sustainability, and a strong urban form. With a density of 34.5 units per hectare, the proposal represents an efficient use of zoned residential land, supporting compact growth and placemaking in this key town of the Midlands region," the application says.

The new planning application lodged on April 23 includes a letter from the landowner, Carlow auctioneer June Doran permitting a developer Hebron Mooncoin Ltd to apply for approval.

It was returned as invalid two days later, as the planners say it is missing a document, but is likely to be soon resubmitted.

Dorah's field has long attracted anti-social behaviour including dumping.  It was placed on the Derelict Sites Register at one point.  See recent 'shocking' dumping here.

The council had spent some years in negotiation with the owner to buy the 5.3 acre site, even considering the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order to force the owner to sell.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley had led calls for the CPO.

"This field is the bane of the area. It is a rat run too, to Bruach na hAbhainn estate. The council is picking up the bill of anti-social behaviour and illegally dumped rubbish. Housing is the only thing that will bring it to an end," she said recently.

Last July the council said that a CPO was "very much a reality" for the site.  

In 2019 Laois County Council had announced plans with the Co-Operative Housing body to buy the field and build 34 new houses extending from O'Moore Place, a council built housing estate.

The council then spent €400,000 knocking six houses to improve access in O'Moore Place and make way for an entrance to the new land, with the next phase said to be the new houses. 

The new plan does not link to the road into O'Moore Place.