How do I search planning applications in Co. Laois?

Two ways. The national planning applications map (nationalplanningapplications.ie) carries every council's register on one map: search the address, then look at the streets around it. The planning authority for the towns on this page is Laois County Council; each also runs its own online planning search with the full file, drawings and decision. For a house you are buying, the 300 m around it matters more than the town count.

Which towns in Co. Laois have the most planning activity?

By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Portlaoise (323), Portarlington (170). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.

Does planning permission nearby change what a house is worth?

A granted permission for a large scheme behind the house can take light, a view or parking, and it means construction traffic for two years. It can also add a school or a shop. Read the description, the decision and the appeal status before you bid. The report lists every application within 300 m of the Eircode with that detail, and checks the house's own planning and building-control file.

Planning applications · Co. Laois

Planning applications in Co. Laois: 493 in three years

493 planning applications were lodged within 2 km of the centres of 2 towns in Co. Laois in the last three years, 21 of them for ten homes or more (1,217 units). Below: the busiest towns, the largest schemes on file, and what to check around one house before you bid.

493

planning applications within 2 km of 2 town centres in the last three years

of them for 10 homes or more

1,217

residential units in those large applications

Where the planning office is busiest in Co. Laois

Applications lodged within 2 km of each town centre since 2023, from the national planning register. A high count means an active town, not necessarily housing estates: extensions, one-off rural houses, shopfronts and retention applications all count.

Portlaoise	323 applications, 12 large
Portarlington	170 applications, 9 large

Largest schemes on file in Co. Laois

Applications for ten homes or more near the towns above, largest first, with the status recorded on the register when this page was built:

174 units, Portlaoise, lodged 2026-05, new application (Laois County Council): construct a Large Scale Residential Development at this site: Dargan Woods, Borris Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois. The development will consist of: the provision of 174 no. residential house and apartment units and a creche
97 units, Portarlington, lodged 2025-04, application finalised (Laois County Council): amend the design and layout of the development permitted under Laois County Council Reg. Ref. 19/432 (as amended by Laois County Council Reg. Ref. 24/46) comprising: A reduction in site area from 4.01 to 3.91 hectares to
92 units, Portlaoise, lodged 2025-06, application finalised (Laois County Council): construct 92 No. residential dwellings comprising 86 No. 4-bed houses and 6 No. 2-bed sheltered housing units. The proposed development will be 1 No. and 2 No. storeys in height. The development will also include: minor
88 units, Portlaoise, lodged 2026-03, decision made (Laois County Council): construct 88 no. residential units and all associated site development works including footpaths, parking, boundary treatments, drainage, bicycle and bin stores and landscaping/amenity areas at Colliers Lane, Ballyroan (
76 units, Portlaoise, lodged 2026-01, application finalised (Laois County Council): carry out development which will consist of: A proposed residential and commercial development on a brownfield site of 4.96 hectares to include the construction of 217 no. single to four storey residential units; 2 No. m
74 units, Portarlington, lodged 2026-06, further information (Laois County Council): construct a 74 unit Residential Development, consisting of 6 No. Type A/ A1 two storey semi-detached 4 bedroom houses, 6 No. Type B two storey semi-detached 4 bedroom houses, 12 No. Type C/ C1 two storey terraced 3 bedro
49 units, Portarlington, lodged 2024-08, application finalised (Laois County Council): construct 49 no. residential units to include 27 no. type A, two storey three bed semi-detached , 17 no. type C, two storey two bed terrace and 5 no. house type D, two storey three bedroom, all site works including drain
42 units, Portlaoise, lodged 2026-05, further information (Laois County Council): Demolish the former Coughlan Fireplaces Sales Room and workshop and boundary walls; the construction of a new access road off Colliers Lane with new boundary walls for the two existing roadside dwellings immediately to t

A permission that is granted but not yet built is invisible at a viewing. The register shows it. So does the zoning map for the fields around the house, which says what they are allowed to become.

Check one house in Co. Laois

The area tells you the odds. The report tells you about the house.

Enter the Eircode. The free snapshot shows which of the twenty-nine checks flag up. The full report (€24.99, one house, no account) lists every planning application within 300 m of the house with status, decision and appeal, checks the property's own planning and building-control file, and shows the zoning of the land around it.

Or read the sample report first: a real house, 16 pages.

Other checks for Co. Laois

Planning applications by town in Co. Laois

GuidePlanning search before buying a house: the three files that matter

Questions people ask

How do I search planning applications in Co. Laois?: Two ways. The national planning applications map (nationalplanningapplications.ie) carries every council's register on one map: search the address, then look at the streets around it. The planning authority for the towns on this page is Laois County Council; each also runs its own online planning search with the full file, drawings and decision. For a house you are buying, the 300 m around it matters more than the town count.
Which towns in Co. Laois have the most planning activity?: By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Portlaoise (323), Portarlington (170). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.
Does planning permission nearby change what a house is worth?: A granted permission for a large scheme behind the house can take light, a view or parking, and it means construction traffic for two years. It can also add a school or a shop. Read the description, the decision and the appeal status before you bid. The report lists every application within 300 m of the Eircode with that detail, and checks the house's own planning and building-control file.

Sources

National planning applications map

Area figures, compiled from public records. They describe the town or county, not any one house. The paid report checks the exact Eircode.