Barefield
Barefield Location and Context Barefield is situated on the R458, 8km north of Ennis. Nearby, Ballyallia Lake teems with bird life in the winter and in the summer is a popular recreation spot for picnics, walks, kayaking and canoeing. Dromore Woods lies to the north of the village. The village has a church, a primary school, a community centre, pre-school facilities, pitch, two public houses, a new cafe and a social services centre which accommodates the Clare Crusaders children’s clinic. Its proximity to Ennis, the M18 motorway, and the surrounding countryside makes it an attractive place to live. To date, development has mainly occurred in a linear fashion along the R458 with ribbon development along the local road to the west of the settlement. Barefield is ideally located in close proximity to Ennis and with direct access to the M18 motorway. The village has a large primary school serving a wide catchment area and is an attractive place to live and provides an attractive alternative to one-off rural housing. Barefield recently received funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to provide a cycle/footpath to link both ends of the village, traffic calming, an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, drainage and landscaping. This will enhance the village public realm and promote active travel within the village. The goal of the settlement plan for Barefield is to consolidate the village core, retain and, where possible, increase the range of services and provide an increased level of public amenity. The strategy for Barefield, is to provide for small scale well designed residential, mixed use and community development which will have regard to the character of the settlement. A key priority is to retain community and social facilities within the village and to encourage further service provision. Water is supplied to Barefield from the Ennis Public Water Supply which is adequate to meet future needs. There is limited wastewater infrastructure in the village and wastewater is pumped to Ennis for treatment. It serves the school and a limited number of properties in the village, and currently does not extend beyond the school. The majority of properties in the village are served by individual septic tanks and it is anticipated that this situation will continue for the Plan period and any future residential development, commercial or employment generating development will require private wastewater treatment systems subject to suitable site specific conditions. The EPA Code of Practice for Wastewater Treatment Systems will be strictly adhered to in order to ensure protection of the receiving environment. The village is not currently served by public transport, however securing a bus service will be encouraged in any future active and sustainable travel plans.
__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029
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