Bodyke

Bodyke

Location and Context

The settlement of Bodyke primarily takes a linear form, with an acute bend in the road defining the centre of the settlement. The landscape in and around Bodyke is robust with a significant amount of tree cover and vegetation.

The village consists of residential dwellings built in a linear manner along the R352 radiating from the village centre. Within the village there is a garage/shop, a local pub, a church, a national school and a number of other small businesses. The East Clare Golf Club is also located in close proximity to the village and is a significant recreation and tourism amenity in the area.

General Objectives

• To encourage the small-scale expansion of the settlement throughout the lifetime of this

Plan in order to sustain and increase the population of the area and support new and existing services in the village;

• To ensure that existing population levels and services are maintained;

• To ensure that future growth in Bodyke is incremental and small scale in nature, relative and appropriate to the scale, size and character of the population and services in the village;

• To facilitate the provision of infrastructure to allow for future growth in the village;

• To support the creation of an appropriate car park/drop off area to service the National

School.

Employment and Enterprise

In order to support economic development in the village, is it an objective:

• To support existing and new businesses in the village. The redevelopment of unused buildings within the village for new enterprises will be particularly encouraged.

Strategy for growth and sustainable communities

The strategy for the sustainable growth of the village and its community is through consolidation and regeneration that promotes compact sequential growth and supports and

__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029

strengthens a sustainable village community and its rural hinterland. This will be achieved by encouraging small scale growth in areas which make a positive contribution to the overall enhancement of the village and sustains it into the future. In line with this approach and to promote vibrant rural villages, village growth areas have been identified which provide opportunities and choice for development, including small scale commercial, enterprise, community, services/facilities as well as small scale cluster housing, all of which offers a viable and attractive option for rural living within a village community and setting.

A number of sites in the village centre are identified as village growth areas which will facilitate small scale development to help sustain and increase the population of the area and support new and existing services, thus consolidating the heart of the village and providing streetscape.

The delivery of any new development in Bodyke will be encouraged by adopting a combined approach of sequential compact growth and the re-use and redevelopment of any vacant or derelict sites and buildings within the village.

Any future development of these sites should ensure the protection of the mature trees where they occur. The EPA Code of Practice for Wastewater Treatment Systems must be strictly adhered to in order to ensure that there are no significant long term effects on the surrounding environment, in particular groundwater, which has a significant interaction with the surface water in this area.

The community zoning adjacent to the school has the potential to provide a carpark/drop off area to service the National School.

VGA2 Corner Site adjacent to the Church

This prominent site is important to successful place making in Bodyke. The key considerations for any redevelopment of this site include the requirement to have one entry point sufficiently distanced from the junction and to physically define the back of the footpath edge. A landscaping plan for this site should be to an agreed design which helps to spatially define the outer edge of this important space in Bodyke.

__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029