Planning granted for renovation and redevelopment of historic Mayo pub building
Mayo County Council grants planning for renovation of Castle Inn in Castlebar as well as development of two apartments
PLANNING permission has been granted to extend and redevelop an historic pub building in the centre of Mayo's county town.
Mayo County Council granted planning permission to Ger Whyte to renovate and extend the Castle Inn pub on Castle Street in Castlebar as well the construction of two two-bedroom apartments at the first floor level of the building.
The renovation of the Castle Inn pub will include a revised front elevation, shopfront and layout at ground floor level. The total floor area of the pub will remain at 146.6 square metres but the size of the toilets and the outdoor smoking area will both be increased.
The applicant also applied and was granted permission to develop two apartments on the first floor level of the building. Apartment one which is proposed to be located to the front of the building will have a total area of 72 square metres consisting of two bedrooms, one of which will be at the attic level along with a living area and a bathroom. Apartment two will also consist of two bedrooms but will be smaller in size totalling 65 square metres.
The applicant stated in correspondence to Mayo County Council that the residential units are for long term lettings only and the proposed outdoor decking area at first floor level will be a shared open space between the residential units only and not for customers attending the pub.
The Castle Inn is located within the Historic Town of Castlebar which is legally protected as an archaeological site under the Record of Monuments and Places and the National Monuments Acts. This means any development must undergo archaeological assessment and is subject to restrictions and monitoring to prevent damage to subsurface remains.
The archaeological assessment of the proposed development found that Castle Street is considered one of the oldest parts of Castlebar and the Castle Inn building dates back to the mid 19 century. It recommended that when site works commence all the digging down for installation of services and connections to the stormwater sewers and existing public sewers are to be archaeologically monitored.
Mayo County Council granted planning permission for the Castle Inn development subject to ten planning conditions including the developer having to employ a qualified archaeologist to monitor all ground disturbance.