Work begins on new take-away restaurant and apartments in centre of Tullamore

WORK has begun on a take-away restaurant and residential development in Tullamore town centre.

The project involves reconstruction, extension and change of use of a building which previously housed offices on its ground floor.

The building, which is a protected structure, is on William Street close to Kilbeggan Bridge.

The ground floor will be converted to restaurant use and apartments will be provided by building a two-storey extension at the rear.

A condition of planning permission is that the restaurant with its ancillary take-away must only operate between 12 noon and 11pm from Sunday to Thursday and from 12 noon to 1am on Friday and Saturday.

Offaly County Council also says the developer must submit a front elevation indicating the shop front signage and that should be in accordance with the local authority's guide to shopfronts and signs.

The works must retain the maximum amount of surviving historic fabric in situ, “including structural elements, plasterwork and joinery” and be designed to cause minimum interference to the building structure and fabric.

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SSC Properties, Loughroe, Rahan, a company whose director is Stiofain McNeill and secretary is Ciaran McNeill, sought permission to convert the building and have five apartments in total.

The apartments, four of which are described as “studio” apartments, will be on the ground, first and second floors.

The developer told the council a shopfront will not be erected and instead there will be a sign in single letters.

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