Planning permission has been sought for the development of a doctor’s surgery at the old Miller’s Hardware off Bull Lane in the centre of Portlaoise.
The premises, which is now owned by the Mulhall family who run the nearby Supervalu, have applied for permission to Laois County Council to develop the site.
The planning notice, submitted by Kentian Ltd, says that there will be a “sub division of the existing ground floor unit to form two independent units consisting of a retail unti (66 square metres) and a doctor’s surgery unit (341 square metres) from retail use to doctor’s surgery unit”.
There will also be independent access to the first floor level of the building.
The application is for partial change of use while there there is also planning sought to extend the internal floor area of the first floor by 15 square metres and to change the front of the premises and associated signage.
The building has been vacant since Miller’s Hardware closed in 2017. It has since been bought by the owners of Mulhall’s.
In recent times the yard has been used as a car park for SuperValu.
While planning has been sought to change the unit to a doctor’s surgery, it’s understood that there’s no arrangement in place with a doctor to move.
The planning application may be inspected or purchased at Laois County Council. A submission or observation in relayed to the application may be made to the authority in writing within five weeks of the application being processed.
