Green light for restaurant plan in old post office in Tullamore

Planning permission has been granted for the conversion of the former post office building in O'Connor Square, Tullamore, to a restaurant.

Luke Coyle of Klegon Ltd which had lodged the planning application hailed the decision.

"We are delighted that Offaly County Council have granted permission to change the use of the old Post Office to a restaurant amenity that will benefit the local people. The building is in a very prominent location and has been in disuse for several years.

"Many local people have fond memories of this building when it was a post office and will now have the chance to once again benefit from it. We will now turn our attention to identifying parties interested in leasing the prominent restaurant space."

The council, subject to ten conditions, granted approval for the project, which will involve a change of use of the former building to a restaurant.

Built in 1909, the old post office was a high-profile building on the southern side of the square and is a protected structure.

All works are to be supervised by a specialist consultant competent in the field of architectural conservation.

All works are to be designed to cause minimum intervention to the existing fabrics.

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

Items that have to be removed for repair shall be recorded prior to removal, catalogued and numbered to allow for authentic reinstatement.

Details on the planning application indicate plans to transform the building into a theme restaurant.

The sorting room to the rear will become the main dining area. A two storey section to the rear will become kitchen stores and toilets.