Bellharbour

Bellharbour

Location and Context

The Wild Atlantic Way, as it runs along the northern coast of County Clare, passes through Bellharbour. The village is situated on an inlet off Ballyvaughan Bay and a small quay serving the settlement is located at the water’s edge.

Bellharbour is located on the main N67, a designated Scenic Route, between Ballyvaughan and the County Galway border. There are many visitor attractions in the area including The Flaggy Shore, the historic Mount Vernon house, with a variety of restaurants, public houses, artisan food producers and yoga centres nearby. The Burren Outdoor Education Centre is situated south of the Village.

Bellharbour is a small village and its harbour-side location makes it an attractive visitor destination, with a number of holiday home developments within short walking distance of the harbour. However, the sensitivity of its location needs to be considered carefully when assessing development proposals.

The strategy for Bellharbour is to encourage small-scale incremental residential growth that will be reflective of the rural nature of the settlement, while also encouraging the reuse of vacant or derelict sites and properties within the Village. Also, proposals for any suitablyscaled and appropriate commercial or employment-generating development will be encouraged. The Village has a permanent resident population and provision should be made to encourage its future growth.

The village is served by Turlough Public Water Supply which has sufficient capacity to serve projected population growth. Bellharbour has no public wastewater treatment scheme, and any development proposals must be served by private waste water treatment systems which are in compliance with the EPA Code of Practice for Waste Water Treatment Systems and must be strictly adhered to in order to ensure no significant long term effects on the surrounding European sites.

The village lies on Pouldoody Bay which is designated as both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (Galway Bay Complex SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) (Inner Galway Bay SPA). In addition, Moneen Mountain SAC and the East Burren Complex SAC lie in close proximity surrounding the village. Future development must ensure there are no significant effects on the conservation objectives or site integrity of the surrounding European sites or any other European site as a result of any future potential development in the Village. Accordingly, objectives set out in Volume 1 of this Plan, relating to European sites and to Appropriate Assessment will apply to any future development proposals in this area. The Natura Impact Report accompanying this Plan (Volume 10a) relevant mitigation measures and recommendations at site and project level.

__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029

The “Ballyvaughan/Poulnaclough Bay Pollution Reduction Program (PRP)” produced by Clare County Council in compliance with the Quality of Shellfish Waters Regulations 2006 and updated in 2012 promotes compliance with the objectives of this pollution reduction programme and with the objectives of the Shellfish Waters Directive for the designated shellfish growing waters of Ballyvaughan/Poulnaclough Bay. Future development proposals will be required to demonstrate adherence to this PRP and the overall protection of water quality with respect to Shellfish waters.

General Objectives

• To make provision for the sustainable growth of the Village which will support existing services and encourage further expansion of the service base, whilst retaining its distinctive character; and

• To promote Bellharbour as a destination on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Employment and Enterprise

There is an identified need to provide for greater commercial opportunities to meet the needs of the local community and the tourism industry. Accordingly, mixed use zoning and commercial zoning are provided to encourage economic development and enterprise at this location within the settlement. Proposals for employment generating development in the Village will be supported and facilitated where appropriate.

Tourism

The Burren Outdoor Education Centre (LCETB) is located in close proximity to Bellharbour and provides outdoor recreational experiences to support the development of social, emotional and team-building skills. This facility provides an opportunity to enhance the development of educational tourism in County Clare.

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 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.

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Flood Risk

A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment was carried out as part of the preparation of this Plan. The SFRA advises that there is some flood risk to open space, maritime zoning and part of the Village Centre. The SFRA is set out in Volume 10(c) of this Development Plan.

__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029