Vacant Tipperary shop to get new life as apartments
A disused commercial property in a busy town in Tipperary has been granted planning permission to be turned into two apartments.
The council approved plans to convert the long-vacant former travel agency at 47 Main Street in Tipperary town into two studio apartments.
After numerous requests for further information by the council, two studio apartments will be developed in the former commercial property.
Planning files note that the building in question is “a very challenging building, as the floor area and the existing stairs arrangement is tricky”.
"You as a planning unit need to be flexible in your approach to minimum standards, versus an existing building,” an agent for the developer noted.
"It would be two new studio dwellings for the Tipperary town area, which there is a desperate need for,” the agent added.
Planning for the two apartments in 47 Main Street was granted subject to six conditions, including that all surface water be collected by the surface water sewers, that the developer take care of existing public services that may cross the site when works are ongoing, and that construction and demolition are done in a manner to ensure that dust and noise don’t significantly impact the surrounding environment.
However, a related proposal for two additional apartments to the rear of the adjoining property was refused, with planners saying it did not make optimal use of the backland site.
Michael English had applied for permission to change the use of a building to the rear of 48 Main Street, as well as changing the use of another building at the rear of the property, creating two additional apartments, developing a courtyard with a gate controlled access from Main Street, which was refused by the local authority.
Permission for the additional apartments was turned down by the council because they deemed the plans as being “piecemeal” and “fragmented”.
“The planning authority considers that the proposals for unit three and four are piecemeal and fragmented in nature and do not offer the optimum design solution for this underutilised, brownfield and backland site,” the council’s planning department said.
“It is considered that that the proposal represents an unsustainable use of the site and has the potential to prejudice the development of the balance of the backlands at this location,” they added.
The local authority also said that the plans for the site don’t offer enough amenity space for the future residents.