Feakle
Feakle Location and Context Feakle is an attractive village set against the background of the Slieve Aughty Mountains, situated in a region of loughs, rivers, mountains, moorland and deep sheltered valleys. The village has two distinctive service centres. The larger area to the west comprises the Main Street which houses a variety of services and the majority of the residential development in the settlement, and the smaller area to the east comprises the local Post Office, cemetery, a public house and a small amount of residential development. The settlement has retained its character, with a long linear Main Street comprising both residential and commercial uses located off the R468 regional road. A community playground has been provided at Gortavrulla. The village hosts the Feakle International Festival of Traditional Irish Music and significant potential exists to further develop the tourism industry in the area. Feakle has its own public water supply and treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant which has sufficient capacity to cater for the target population. The entire settlement of Feakle is located within the Shannon – Graney/Scarriff River catchment which has been identified by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) as a “Catchment with previous records of Margaritifera, but current status unknown” with respect to the presence of Freshwater Pearl Mussels this catchment historically had records of mussels but its status is currently unknown. Therefore, any proposed development will need to take into consideration the potential effects on this species and its habitat. The village is adjoining the Slieve Aughty Mountains SPA, and it is therefore essential that no development is permitted that will negatively impact on the integrity of the SPA. Any plan or project with the potential to impact on the integrity of the SPA should be subject to the requirements of the Habitats Directive. General Objectives •
To promote the consolidation of the existing village through brownfield reuse/redevelopment and compact growth within the appropriate land use zoning to support existing services and encourage the development of new services, whilst retaining its existing character;
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To ensure that existing population levels and services are maintained;
__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029
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