Calls for Laois landowners to propose sites for commercial development

Sites in Laois are being considered for rezoning

Published 4th Aug 2026, 12:55 BST Laois County Council are looking to prepare a variation of the Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027 with respect to zoning appropriate additional commercial lands in 2026. Sites in Laois are being considered for rezoning Sign up to our Laois Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Laois Live within your account.

Laois County Council has called for landowners across Laois who may be interested in rezoning their land for industrial or commercial development to get in touch with them.

At the July meeting of Laois County Council , Cllr James Kelly stated that more land needs to be zoned for industrial and commercial development in order to attract more investment to Laois.

He also noted that some lands which are currently zoned for industrial use are “in the wrong place.” The Independent councillor was supported by Cllr Conor Bergin who added that he has had businesses contacting him in Borris-in-Ossory in relation to a lack of zoned sites for enterprise.

Laois County Council has now called for landowners to put forward sites which could be used for enterprise and employment, general business, industrial, and mixed use developments.

This is part of the Council’s review of the enterprise and economic development lands in Laois with the view to preparing a variation of the Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027 regarding zoning appropriate additional lands this year.

This follows the major residential rezoning by Laois County Council in June. The Council made 88 residential zoning changes across the county which has allowed for another 8,000 homes to be built, subject to planning approval.

According to Laois County Council, any proposed lands for rezoning should meet a certain criteria.

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This includes contributing to the achievement of compact growth and sequential patterns of development as well as being serviced, or capable of being serviced and delivered, within the next five years for a forthcoming variation to the Laois County Development Plan on employment land.

The proposed sites must also be located in areas with good public transport services or capable of delivering them with a proposed development and they must not be subject to significant constraints or impediments to development, such as legal or environmental constraints.

Submissions for proposals will open on Thursday morning, August 6 at 9am. The deadline closes on Saturday evening, August 8 at 5pm.

Submissions can be made in writing and addressed to the Senior Planner, Planning Section, Laois County Council, Aras an Chontae, JFL Avenue, Portlaoise.

Sites can also be submitted by email to [email protected] or online at https://consult.laois.ie .

Laois County Council has requested that all submissions should be clearly marked ‘Call for sites on land suitable for employment zoning.’

The submissions must include a completed zoning form, a map clearly identifying the lands proposed which should be highlighted in red, and details of how the proposal aligns with relevant Government policy.

Any supporting documents demonstrating compliance with the criteria should also be submitted. This could include indicative layouts, masterplans if land is large scale, and longer term development proposals.

Submissions will be published on the Laois County Council website within 10 working days of receipt.