WATCH: Laois demolition to pave way for €5 m Portlaoise development

Demolition work is in full swing in Portlaoise for a development which will pave the way for a major commercial redevelopment of a prime site on the Laois town's Dublin Road.

Extensive hoarding erected around the Leinster Express Business Park in April was soon followed by demolition crews and equipment who moved in to knock down the former Leinster Express building. 

The work is being carried out to clear the site to allow for the construction of a major new filling station on the property that faces onto one of the busiest roads in Portlaoise.

The application was first approved by Laois planners in 2022 but was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by competitor Applegreen. ABP upheld the planning approval granted by Laois County Council.

Speaking to the Leinster Express / Laois Live, Richard Downey said he was relieved that the work had begun. Now that workers are on-site, he expects that progress will be swift towards completion.

"We hope to have it completed by next February," he said.

Mr Downey also revealed that he story would be significant in the region of "€5 million". MORE BELOW PICTURE.

He confirmed that there would be extra retail space and the popular deli counter service would expand with extra seating.

Under the plan, Downey's service station, one of the busiest stations in Laois and the Midlands, will relocate to the new premises and be accessed via the Colliers Road roundabout, which will be increased in size.

The new roundabout will replace a temporary flat small roundabout, on what is a busy junction for traffic to secondary schools, multiple housing estates, and Dublin traffic.

The applicant, Portlaoise Service Station Ltd, is backed by the Downey family, which owns the Downey Auto Stop, which is a main Ford dealership. Phase two of the redevelopment will see the existing filling station converted into a car sales and showroom. Permission for this was originally granted in August 2022.

The new filling station includes a new two-storey building that will be made up of a licensed forecourt convenience store comprising of retail shop, a delicatessen area, toilets, stores, ATM, seating area with a full off-licence on to ground floor. The first floor will have staff facilities with a canteen, office spaces, plant space and external plant.

There will be a forecourt with canopy, pump islands, signage, illuminated roadside totem signage, a services area, a carwash, and underground fuel storage tanks. It will have 48 parking spaces, including five for EV charging, three disability spaces and six bicycle spaces. It will have a fuel offloading point, a new site entrance, new boundary treatments and landscaping.