Plan for homes and commercial unit in 150-year-old former bank
The former Bank of Ireland building located on Main Street, Boyle was purpose-built c.1870.
Plans to convert a 150-year-old former Bank of Ireland building in Boyle into town houses and a commercial unit have been lodged with Roscommon County Council.
The former bank building located on Main Street, where the current Bank of Ireland branch is also located, was purpose-built c.1870 for the Irish bank on a site extending back to the Boyle river.
The main street section of the bank served the community as a bank and manager’s residence until its closure in 1975. The Georgian four-bay three storey building had been used as rental accommodation and storage but has lain derelict since the early 2000s.
Now planning permission is being sought for conservation and restoration works to be carried out to the protected structure for the provision of two town houses and a ground floor commercial unit.
The plans include a new traditional shopfront, restoration of rear outbuildings, landscaping and improvement works to a rear yard.
An Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment report with the planning files states that the proposed works are “vital in safeguarding the future of this structure and “are vital to returning this town centre building to use and full occupancy”.
The report goes on to say that the proposal is considered to be a sympathetic restoration which will stay true to the structure’s original character.
“The proposed works have a firm eye on the future of Boyle town and are deemed to be suitably aligned with the objectives set out in Boyle local area plan,” it says.
The planning documents also refer to the Boyle 2040 report, published in 2020, which states there is currently an 80% residential vacancy and a 60% commercial vacancy in the town centre. “These works are vital to returning this building to use and counteracting the above negative trends,” the application says.
The report adds that the project will only have “a positive effect on the character of the structure and the character of Boyle town centre Architectural Conservation Area (ACA)”.
County planners are due to make a decision on the planned development by March 31st next.
