Development plan · Clare County Council
Clare County Development Plan 2023–2029 (as varied)
The council's development plan written statement: its strategy, policies, objectives and development standards.
Clare County Council · 2023–2029 · 568 pages
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- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 7 | Retail clearly separated from the town centre but within the settlement boundaries of urban areas identified in the development plan. Retail proposals at these locations will be assessed in accordance with the Retail Strategy. Development Plan Objective: Edge-of-Centre Retail Development CDP 7.17 It is an objective of Clare County Council: a) To assess applications for edge-of-centre and out-ofcentre retail developments having regard to the criteria and considerations set out in Retail Planning – Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2012) and the Clare Retail Strategy; b) To apply the sequential test to development proposals for edge of centre retail developments; and, c) To permit edge of centre retail developments only where such development will strongly integrate into the existing town centre and will not have a negative impact on the vitality and viability of the relevant town centre, and subject to normal planning requirements, including the requirement to be served by public transport and to be accessible to their catchment by walking and cycling. 7.5.2 Retail Parks/Retail Warehousing A retail park comprises an agglomeration of retail warehouses grouped around a common carpark selling mainly bulky goods. In keeping with the Retail Planning Guidelines (2012) there will be a presumption against further development of out-of-town retail parks in the plan area. However, there is an identified need for retail warehouse development of notable scale in the Ennis retail catchment area, alongside more modest requirements towards the end of the plan period identified in the retail catchment areas encompassing Kilrush, Shannon and the County Clare portion of the shared Limerick retail area. Development Plan Objective: Retail Parks/Retail Warehousing CDP 7.18 It is an objective of Clare County Council: a) To encourage and facilitate an improved bulky comparison retail offer in Ennis where it can be achieved through a qualitative improvement of existing retail floorspace; and, b) To consider new retail warehouse development in the other retail catchment areas, in instances where it would target a qualitative improvement of existing bulky goods retailing and without exceeding the additional requirements identified. Further, that any such consideration be subject to the application of the sequential test and the preparation of a retail impact assessment to ensure that there will be no167
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 7 | Retail negative impacts on the vitality and viability of associated town centre areas. 7.5.3 Tourism-Related Retail Developments It is an objective of the Council to support niche tourism and innovative tourist enterprises to enhance the diversity and quality of local visitor experiences and to stimulate increased visitor numbers. Clare County Council will give favourable consideration to tourist-related retail developments in settlements and in established tourist attractions throughout the county. The Promote Ennis: Niche Destination Plan has been produced with a development focus on Ennis realising the significant opportunity that tourism presents for increased economic activity. Tourism retail will be encouraged at appropriate and established tourist locations where it can be shown that the tourism attraction concerned is well established and has a suitable existing flow of visitors sufficient to make a retail facility viable. The retail facility must not detract from the main tourist attraction on the site. Development Plan Objective: Tourism-Related Retail CDP 7.19 It is an objective of Clare County Council: To encourage and facilitate the delivery of sustainable tourism-related retail developments and initiatives, of appropriate scale, located in settlements and in the vicinity of established tourism attractions. 7.5.4 Ancillary Retailing It is recognised that some industrial and commercial businesses also operate small-scale retail facilities, subsidiary to their main operations, to provide direct sales to the public. Such operations will be considered having regard to the location of the business, the extent of retail activity that will be generated and the potential impact on both surrounding businesses and town centre retail activity. Development Plan Objective: Ancillary Retailing CDP 7.20 It is an objective of Clare County Council: To facilitate industrial and commercial businesses located in premises outside the town centres to trade with retail customers where such retailing operations are ancillary to the business as a whole and where they do not have a negative impact on neighbouring businesses and/or town centre retailing. 7.5.5 Petrol Filling Stations168
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 7 | Retail Small shops associated with petrol filling stations can be a cost-effective way of providing the equivalent services of a local shop. It is considered appropriate for petrol filling stations to provide limited retail facilities on site provided they are of a small scale and ancillary to the main purpose of the filling station. The Council will consider proposals on a case-by-case basis and may limit the range of retail goods available for purchase at petrol filling stations in order to protect the viability and vitality of existing retail centres. Such facilities will generally not be acceptable in rural areas where the maximum speed limit applies. Development Plan Objective: Petrol Filling Stations CDP 7.21 It is an objective of Clare County Council: To consider development proposals for petrol filling stations, and associated shops with a floor space up to 100m2 (net), on their individual merits, subject to normal planning and environmental considerations. Where permission is sought for associated shops with a floorspace is in excess of 100m² (net), the sequential approach shall also be applied.169
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources Chapter 8 Rural Development and Natural Resources Goal VII: A county with diverse and strong rural communities and economy, where its natural resources are sustainably managed in a manner that is compatible with the sensitivity of rural areas and the existing quality of life. Chapter 8 Table of Contents 8.0 Introduction 8.1 Strategic Aims 8.2 Strategy 8.2.1 Rural Settlement Strategy 8.2.2 Economic Development in Rural Areas 8.2.3 Farm-Based Rural Enterprise 8.2.4 Agriculture, Agri-Food and Agri-Tech 8.2.5 Agri-Tourism Development 8.2.6 Local Services and Shops in Rural Areas 8.2.7 Rural Transport 8.2.8 Rural Broadband 8.3 Natural Resources 8.3.1 Fishing and Aquaculture 8.3.2 Forestry 8.3.3 Bioenergy 8.3.4 Renewable Energy 8.3.5 Unconventional Gas Exploration and Extraction 8.3.6 Extractive Industry170
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources 8.0 Introduction The strategic aims and objectives required to promote the sustainable development of rural communities whilst maintaining their intrinsic qualities and vibrancy, and also to manage and develop County Clare’s natural resources are set out in this chapter. 8.1 Strategic Aims In accordance with the overall ‘vision’ of the plan, objectives are based on the following strategic aims: • To reinforce the vitality and future of rural villages and settlements and to recognise the roles that they play in the wider social and economic context; • To encourage and support the social and economic development of rural parts of the county; • To support local rural economies and communities and facilitate the diversification of local rural enterprises and work practices; • To ensure that key assets of rural areas such as the natural and built environment are protected and enhanced, and that rural areas with resources such as renewable energy, water sources, and aggregates are sustainably developed; and, • To harness a pride of place among rural communities and to assist rural communities to promote their cultural and natural resources. 8.2 Strategy County Clare’s rural areas are home to a diverse range of activities including agriculture, tourism, residential, commercial and recreation. The county has a long tradition of rural living and the Council will support the continued sustainable development of Clare’s rural areas. The Renewed Rural Development Strategy 2030 entitled ‘Realising Clare’s Rural Potential: Our Life, Our Home’ for County Clare is based on the NPF National Policy Objectives 14 to 25 which aim to promote rural growth and arrest rural decline while revitalising and reinvigorating rural communities. This chapter is also consistent with other higher level policy documents including the RSES, Foodwise 2025, Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, the CEDRA Report and the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities. The RSES reflects the NPF statement that the rural countryside “is and will continue to be, a living and lived-in landscape focusing on the requirements of rural economies and rural communities, based on agriculture, forestry, tourism and rural enterprise, while at the same time avoiding ribbon and over-spill development from urban areas and protecting environmental qualities”. The Council supports the implementation of all National and Regional Policy Objectives at local level and it is the broad objective of the Council’s rural development strategy to provide for sustainable rural economies and rural communities.171
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources 8.2.1 Rural Settlement Strategy Rural development that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable assists in strengthening existing rural communities and contributes to the viability of local services such as schools and local shops. The settlement strategy for rural areas within the county is set out in Chapter 4 Urban and Rural Settlement Strategy of this plan and is based on the positive principle that local rural people will be facilitated to live in their own local rural areas. 8.2.2 Economic Development in Rural Areas The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) 2014 report Energising Ireland’s Rural Economy recognised the wide variety of high-quality assets and the abundance of capital, human, physical and natural resources, including dormant assets, in many rural communities, and the potential to leverage these to support national economic growth and the development of these communities. The Commission recommended the development of a Rural Town Stimulus Programme that focuses on rural towns/villages and their hinterlands, and the ‘Town and Village Renewal Scheme’ was subsequently launched in 2016. Furthermore, the Department for Rural and Community Development was established in 2017 and the Action Plan for Rural Development – Realising our Rural Potential 2017-2019 was launched in November 2018. The Action Plan set out 277 actions to assist the regeneration of rural towns and villages, 269 of which have either delivered or substantially advanced including the delivery of 222,600 new jobs outside of the Dublin region, over 660 town and village revitalisation projects funded via €58million in Town and Village Renewal Scheme funding, 7,400 community projects and 77% of homes connected to high-speed broadband. The Action Plan for Rural Development sets out a number of actions to assist the regeneration of rural towns and villages such as the review of planning legislation regarding changes of use in town centres, the increased delivery of small housing schemes in rural towns, the continued delivery of the social housing programme under the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness and a review of the Derelict Sites legislation. The Action Plan has been superseded by Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021- 2025 which was launched in March 2021 and includes 152 Actions to be implemented over the next 5 years across a range of government departments and agencies. The plan will be underpinned by investment in areas such as the roll-out of high-speed broadband, remote working, job creation, town centre regeneration, community development, improvements in regional and local roads, new cycling and walking infrastructure, expanded rural transport services, funding for tourism, culture and heritage projects, and a just transition to a climateneutral society. Following the publication of the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development, County Clare was the first county to launch a rural development strategy the Clare Rural Development Strategy 2026 which has now been superseded by the Renewed Clare Rural Development Strategy 2030. The Strategy outlines a pathway to revitalised and reinvigorated rural172
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources communities across the county. It targets a number of key areas including the creation of jobs in community-based and community run social enterprises over its lifetime, the establishment of digital hubs across the county, the development of community-run multiservice centres and the development of innovative rural transport initiatives. Development Plan Objective: Rural Economic Development CDP 8.1 It is an objective of Clare County Council: a) To work with all relevant stakeholders to deliver the actions identified under the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 and the Rural Development Programme 2014-2022 (and any subsequent programmes). b) To promote and support the development and implementation of a Rural Town Stimulus Programme and to seek investment from sources such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund to support regeneration and economic growth in rural areas of County Clare; c) To harness the potential of shared learning and good practice from European programmes and policy to assist rural development; and, d) To further develop a diverse base of smart economic specialisms involving innovation and diversification in rural areas, in agriculture, the marine, forestry, peatlands, renewable energy, tourism (leveraging the opportunities from the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands corridors), social enterprise, circular economy, knowledge economy, global business services, fin-tech, specialised engineering, heritage, arts and culture, design and craft Industries as dynamic drivers for the rural economy. Development Plan Objective: Rural Innovation, Enterprise and Employment CDP 8.2 It is an objective of Clare County Council: To encourage growth and arrest the decline of rural areas through supporting the sustainable development of these areas by: a) Facilitating innovative rural enterprises and the diversification of the rural economy into new sectors and services including ICT based industries and those addressing climate change and sustainability; b) To give favourable consideration to the sustainable development of existing and start-up rural resource-based industries in rural areas;173
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources c) Supporting and facilitating proposals for new small-scale rural enterprises or extensions to existing small-scale ruralbased indigenous industries; d) Encouraging new commercial uses for vacant or derelict buildings, including historic buildings and buildings in rural areas subject to compliance with appropriate planning, wildlife legislation and service requirements; and, e) Encouraging and supporting the sustainable development of new rural and farm-related enterprises, existing initiatives, innovation in indigenous enterprise (both high-tech and traditional) and on and off farm employment activities. 8.2.3 Farm-Based Rural Enterprise Many farmers and landowners, through innovation and the utilisation of local/natural resources, now subsidise their farming by diversifying into new enterprises. The rural economy has the potential to offer many viable and sustainable employment opportunities and the Council will encourage and facilitate the development of small-scale rural enterprises where possible. In order to further support rural enterprise the Council will give favourable consideration to home based enterprises and will also promote the establishment of a number of small-scale incubator units in rural areas. Development Plan Objective: Alternative Farm Enterprises CDP 8.3 It is an objective of Clare County Council: To assist the sustainable development of the rural economy through the facilitation and encouragement of: i) Alternative farm enterprises, Agri-tourism projects, Agritech, Agri-food, and farm shops; ii) The re-use of redundant farm buildings of vernacular importance for appropriate Agri-tourism enterprises, subject to compliance with appropriate planning, environmental and services requirements and the appropriate maintenance and protection of Clare's natural landscapes and built heritage which are vital to rural tourism and ensure development is in compliance with the environmental requirements of Objective CDP 3.3; and, iii) Farm-based renewable energy technologies such as bioenergy and anaerobic digestion, in compliance with relevant environmental legislation. 8.2.4 Agriculture, Agri-Food and Agri-Tech The agricultural sector is a considerable source of economic activity and income generation in County Clare. It provides the raw materials for the food processing industry and has174
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources potential for providing further added value in the Agri-food sector. The Council will take a positive approach to applications for sustainable agricultural developments generally, subject to the protection of ground waters, amenities, designated habitats and the landscape. The Agri-food sector is one of Ireland’s most important indigenous industries and is of vital importance to the economy of County Clare. Food production continues to grow and is particularly important in rural areas where a strong speciality/artisan food sector has emerged. National level strategies such as Food Harvest 2025, Food Wise 2025, and the Agri-food strategy to 2030 (Food Vision 2030 - A World Leader in Sustainable Food Systems) emphasise the importance of this sector and its potential for enhanced growth. The agri-food industry, and in particular local food production, has an important role to play in ensuring sustainability and resilience. Local food production can provide both local employment and a superior product for the consumer. The economic contribution of artisan food and beverage production continues to grow in the county, and this is particularly the case in rural areas. Several popular food and beverage-based festivals take place in County Clare each year and food trails around the county have also grown in popularity. Agri-tech is the use of technology for farming to improve efficiency and profitability. This technology aims to improve farming through information monitoring and analysis of issues such as weather, pests, soil and air temperature. The Council encourages the use of such technologies in the agricultural sector. Development Plan Objective: Agriculture CDP 8.4 It is an objective of Clare County Council: a) To facilitate proposals for sustainable and economically efficient agricultural and horticultural development whilst maintaining and protecting the environment, the natural landscape and built heritage; b) To encourage the linking of agricultural production with added value enterprise and the diversification of rural enterprises; c) To support the development of rural/farmers markets and the development of food-based enterprises and tourism activities; and, d) To support the on-going growth and development of the artisan food sector in the county. 8.2.5 Agri-Tourism Development County Clare benefits from a wealth of rural amenities which provide a high quality of life for local residents and which support a year-round tourism offering. Agri-tourism developments such as equestrian centres, pitch and putt courses, outdoor pursuit centres, farmhouse guest accommodation, pet farms and small-scale craft centres have the potential to further175
- __________________________________________________________________________________ Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 8 | Rural Development and Natural Resources diversify this offering and the Council will encourage and facilitate such developments where appropriate.176
Source Clare County Council: Clare County Development Plan 2023–2029 (as varied) (2023–2029) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.