Querrin

Querrin

Location and Context

Querrin is a small village centred on a crossroads consisting of a school, a small number of residential and agricultural buildings and an eco-campsite with electric car charging point. There is another small concentration of buildings near the quay at Querrin Point which includes a small development of holiday cottages and Querrin House, a recorded monument. Querrin Quay is also a Protected Structure, RPS 552.

Querrin has a strong community spirit evident in their participation in projects such as the ‘Seol Sionna’ project and the building of the ‘Sally O’ Keeffe’, a traditional wooden Shannon Hooker sailing vessel.

Individual properties in the village are served by their own wastewater treatment systems. The Weir housing scheme, located to the north of the main road in the village, is served by a shared wetlands treatment system and The Creek holiday homes, located to the north of the quay, are also serviced by a shared treatment plant. There are no public wastewater treatment facilities in the village. Any future development including alterations to existing commercial or employment generating development will require private wastewater treatment subject to suitable site-specific conditions and must ensure they are in compliance with the EPA Code of Practice for On Site Wastewater Treatment Systems. Water is supplied via the West Clare Regional Water Supply.

Querrin adjoins the Lower River Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the River Shannon and River Fergus Estuaries Special Protection Area (SPA). Future development must ensure that there are no adverse effects on the SAC and SPA site integrity, or the integrity of any other European site as a result of the proposed development. 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) provides relevant mitigation measures and recommendations at site and project level.

General Objectives

• To encourage small-scale growth of the village during the lifetime of this Plan in order to sustain and increase the population of the area and support new and existing village services.

• To ensure that future growth 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 support the provision of infrastructure to allow for future growth of the village including the provision of public lighting and a new slipway at the pier.

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• To support the improvement of signage at the ‘Four Cross Roads’; • To support the development of a settlement network on the Loop Head Peninsula including Querrin along with Doonaha and Carrigaholt, to assist collaborative projects and the sharing of assets and strengths including developing its economic and tourism potential as a stopping point on the Wild Atlantic Way and Loop Head Peninsula.

Employment and Enterprise

While tourism plays a key role in the economy of Querrin and the tourism accommodation on offer has diversified into eco-camping, agriculture remains an important part of the local economy in the smaller settlements in west Clare. In order to encourage economic development, the Council will support home-based economic activity, farm enterprise and Agri-tourism in Querrin.

Tourism

Querrin village is well positioned in the Loop Head Peninsula and is a key location on the Wild Atlantic Way. In this regard it is an objective:

• To support Querrin and its neighbouring settlements on the Loop Head Peninsula including community groups and other stakeholders in working to improve and diversify the tourism offer.

TOU1 Close to Querrin Quayside

This site has been identified as a suitable location for tourism related development within the village. Development must be reflective of the scale, size and character of the existing settlement and the provision of accommodation in the form of holiday homes shall not, in general, be considered favourably.

Strategy for Growth and Sustainable Communities

There are two existing holiday home developments within the village of Querrin (The Weir and The Creek). Therefore, it is important to ensure future development is balanced and contributes to a thriving village community which can support a range of services which are viable year-round, whilst retaining its distinctive village character.

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,

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community, services/facilities as well as small scale cluster housing, all of which offer a viable and attractive option for rural living within a village community and setting.

In addition to compliance with the policies and objectives as set out in Volume 1 of this Plan, any development proposals for dwellings on areas identified for village growth shall be for permanent occupancy only.

Place Making and Regeneration

Querrin has many strengths in terms of its location and facilities. Visitors are afforded picturesque views of the Shannon Estuary from the road that links the village to the quay. The main road in the village, which runs parallel to the shore, also provides extensive views of the surrounding landscape and the estuary. These views should be preserved in the interest of maintaining the landscape character and the village setting.

In addition, the incorporation of green features into public realm and other developments as well as the greening of public spaces will also enhance the overall amenity of the village and help to mitigate against climate change.

It is an objective of the plan:

• To support the preservation of key views of the Shannon Estuary and surrounding landscape from the village and quay in order to protect the landscape character and setting of the village.

• To support the enhancement and development of public spaces and the overall amenity of the village.

Flooding and Flood Risk

The Strategic Flood Risk Assessment in Volume 10(c) of this Plan advises that redevelopment/refurbishment of existing properties should take into account historical flooding and should seek to minimise flood risk through building resilience measures, and where possible should seek to retreat from the shoreline of the settlement.

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